1  .  2^(>l  ,  llf ^ 


^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  ^ 


Presented    by"!Dr*.  *S  .  c§/.~T^-V'Vovn 


Division  ....L^^-k'.^.., 
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INTUITIVE  PERCEPTION 


PRESENTED  BY 


A  New  Philosophy  of  Natural 
Realism 


In  Accord  With  Universally  Accepted 
Truths 


BY 

WILLIAM  HENRY  HODGE 


"No  attempt  to  show  that  the  data  of  Consciousness  are  either  In  themselves,  or  In 
their  necessary  consequences,  mutually  contradictory  has  yet  succeeded."— Str  William 
Hamilton. 


THE  WICKERSHAM  PRESS, 

LANCASTER,  PENNA. 

1903 


Copyright,  1903, 

BY 

WILLIAM  H.  HODGE. 


Entered  at  Stationer's  Hall,  London,  England 
all  rights  reserved. 
Published  July,  1903. 


WICKERSHAM  PRINTING  CO. 

Printers  and  Binders. 

Lancaster,  Pa.,  U.  S.  A. 


MY  ESTEEMED  UNCLE, 

CHARLES  HODGE,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

UNSEEN  YET  STILL  IN  THOUGHT  A  LIVING  PRESENCE, 

Preeminent  in  pi)ilo6opl)p  ac  in  €l)e0log;p, 

WHOSE  INSTRUCTION  AND  PERSONAL  INFLUENCE  IT  WAS  MY  PRIVILEGE 

TO  ENJOY  FOR  FOUR  SUCCESSIVE  YEARS, 

AS  A  STUDENT  IN  THE  SEMINARY, 

AND   AS   A    SON    WITHIN    THE    SACRED    PRECINCTS    OF    HIS 

|)ome  ani  ^tulip, 

AND  TO  WHOM  MORE  THAN  TO  ANY  OTHER  ARE  DUE  THE  AWAKENING 

AND  DIRECTING  OF  MY  OWN  PHILOSOPHIC  THOUGHT, 

THIS  BOOK  IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 

WITH  THE  TRUST  THAT  IT  MAY  BE  A  FURTHER  MESSAGE  OF 

(Son'fi  OTratl)  to  tl)e  SiaioFlli. 


r- 


PREFACE 


By  Intuitive  Perception  we  behold  Realities.  The 
Philosophy  which  maintains  and  unfolds  this,  has  been 
called  ''Natural  Realism." 

But  it  is  evident  that  the  way,  in  which  it  has  been 
hitherto  presented,  is  characterized  by  numerous  incon- 
sistencies, and  is  unsatisfactory,  and  that  there  is  need  of 
a  restatement  of  the  Doctrine,  that  it  may  be  free  from 
inherent  weakness,  which  exposes  it  to  attacks  by  which 
it  may  be  overthrown. 

The  Substance,  given  in  this  Book,  is  that  which  I 
have  received  from  the  eminent  men,  with  whose  teach- 
ings I  have  become  familiar,  which  has  been  assimilated 
and  wrought  upon  within  my  own  mind,  and  which  fash- 
ioned anew,  interwoven  with  personal  observations,  made 
through  a  course  of  many  years,  is  now  given  forth  in 
forms,  which  seem  to  me  to  be  the  real  Truth,  freed  from 
the  errors  and  weakness,  which  have  hitherto  prevailed. 

Though  few  quotations  have  been  made,  it  is  fully 
acknowledged  that  the  Exposition  of  Intuitive  Percep- 
tion and  Natural  Realism,  which  is  given,  could  never 
have  been  written,  but  for  the  thought  and  work  and  the 
gathered  and  garnered  material  of  those  who  have  labored 
in  the  varied  fields  of  Philosophic  and  Scientific  inquiry. 

The  Book  may  be  designated  as  a  New  Contribution 
to  the  unfolding  and  establishment  of  Familiar  Truths ;  a 
Philosophy  of  Intuitive  Perception  and  Natural  Realism, 
so  fashioned  and  expressed,  that  all  may  understand  it, 
and  blended  harmoniously  with  the  Testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness, as  interpreted  by  all  men. 

Natural  Realism,  properly  presented,  is  Truth  unas- 
sailable; it  has  the  Infallibility  of  Infallible  Consciousness, 
so  far  as  it  is  a  true  exposition  of  its  Testimony. 


vi  PREFACE 

It  has,  at  least,  been  my  aim  and  effort  to  give  such 
presentation,  and  my  trust  is  that  the  evident  intent  of 
the  language  and  expressions  employed  be  accepted,  and 
not  a  meaning  which  may  possibly  be  attributed  to  them, 
but  which  I  neither  hold  nor  teach. 

William  H.  Hodge. 

Chestnut  Hill,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May,  1903. 


INTRODUCTORY    THOUGHT 
Faith  in  the  Contradictory 

Nothing  can  be  true  that  is  contrary  to  Reason  itself 
in  the  abstract. 

But  on  proper  testimony  men  do,  should  and  must  be- 
lieve much  that  is  to  them  contradictory.  It  is  in  this 
way  that  a  large  part  of  Scientific  and  Religious  Truth  is 
generally  accepted. 

This  is  the  part  of  true  Wisdom  ;  that  which  we  do  not 
understand  ourselves  we  receive  from  those  who  do  un- 
derstand it;  that  which  is  contradictory  to  us,  we  receive 
from  those  to  whom  it  is  not  contradictory,  who  see  its 
self-consistency  and  its  harmony  with  other  truths. 

It  is  a  hard  lesson  for  men  to  learn,  that  Reason  is  a 
most  incompetent  guide.  He  who  depends  upon  his  own 
reasoning,  and  upon  it  alone,  must  necessarily  wander 
far  away  from  vast  realms  of  soul-inspiring,  life-giving 
Truth;  he  who  rejects  all  that  is  contradictory  to  his 
reason  lives  in  his  own  narrow-minded  world  apart  from 
all  that  is  beyond  and  higher,  at  fault  in  regard  to  and 
ignorant  of  the  unexplained  wonders  of  Nature  and  of 
the  Soul,  and  the  greater  mysteries  of  Divine  Revelation. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface v 

Introductory  Thought vi 

CHAPTER  I 
Consciousness 
Absolutely  Trustworthy,  One  Power,  Why  Infallible,  Intuition,  No 
Intuitive    Belief,  No  Intuitive  Judgments,   Immediate    Cogni- 
tion, Examples  of  Error,  Definite  Thought  Needed 1-20 

CHAPTER  II 
Our  Origin 
Secs.    I.   Testimony    of    Consciousness,    2.  Testimony   of    Divine 
Revelation,  3.  Scientific  Explanation,  Evolution  at  Fault,  New 
Theory 21-74 

CHAPTER  III 

What  are  We? 
Secs.  i.  "  I  Am,"  2.  Personal  Identity,  3.  Double  Personality — 
Sub-Consciousness,  4.   Immortality,  5.  Time,  Attribute  of  Be- 
ing, i.  e..  Concrete    Being,    6.    Space,   Attribute  of  Material 
Things,  7.  Relation  of  the  Soul  to  Space,  8.  What  is  Man  ••75-147 

CHAPTER  IV 
Sensation 

Secs.  i.  Bodily  Feeling,  2.  Localizing  of  Sensations,  Color, 
Sound,  Objective  Realities,  3.  Primary  and  Secondary  Quali- 
ties, 4.  Physiology 148-183 

CHAPTER  V 
External  Perception 
Secs.  i.  Realities  Cognized,  2.  Organs  of  Perception,  3.  The  Eye, 

4.  The  Other  Organs,  5.  True  Natural  Realism 184-293 

CHAPTER  VI 
Internal  Perception 
Secs.    i.    Spiritual    Realities,    2.   Scientific  Perception,    3.  Beliefs 

and  Judgments 294-305 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VII 
Intuitions 
Secs.  I.  Classification,  2.  Being,  3.  Substance,  4.  Reality,  5.  The 
Infinite  Absolute,  6.  The  Intuition  of  God,  7.  Life,  8.  Person, 
9.  Power,  ID.  Motion,  11.  Time  and  Eternity  (See  Ch.  iii. 
Sec.  s),  12.  Space  and  Infinitude  (See  Ch.  iii.  Sec.  6),  13.  The 
Essential  Distinction  Between  the  Spiritual  and  Material   ••306-380 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Necessary  Truths 

Secs.  i.  Non-Contradiction,  2.  Numbers,  3.  Geometry,  4.  Cause 
and  Efifect,  5.  Right  and  Wrong,  Moral  Obligation,  6.  Re- 
ligion   381-426 

CHAPTER  IX 

A  New  Exposition  of  the  Will 

A  Ceaselessly  Energizing  Force,  The  Executive  Power  of  the 
Soul 427-470 

CHAPTER  X 

Conclusion 
Truth  Unassailable  471-472 


Itttttitim  ^jerceptian 

CHAPTER    I 

Consciousness 

This  is  the  origin  and  foundation  of  our  knowledge. 

Its  declarations,  or  testimony  is  Absolutely  Trust- 
worthy. If  we  deny  its  affirmations  nothing  is  left,  if  we 
doubt  some,  all  are  doubtful. 

This  is  universally  acknowledged;  by  common  people, 
scientists,  philosophers.  Common  people  believe  implic- 
itly what  they  see  and  hear  and  feel  for  themselves;  the 
testimony  of  two  or  three  witnesses,  agreeing  with  one 
another  and  stating  what  they  have  themselves  seen, 
heard  and  felt,  is  regarded  as  conclusive. 

Scientists  build  their  sciences  upon  their  own  observa- 
tion with  perfect  confidence,  while  philosophers  take 
pains  to  point  out  that  Consciousness  always  affirms  the 
exact  truth,  and  they  make  it  the  foundation  of  their 
systems  and  their  ultimate  appeal. 

The  same  thing  appears  in  the  Scriptures.  The 
Apostles  claimed  to  be  trustworthy  because  they  were 
eye-witnesses;  that  which  they  had  heard  and  seen  and 
handled  they  declared  unto  men. 

Consciousness  may  be  said  to  be  our  taking  knowledge 
of  something.  Sometimes  a  man  is  said  to  be  uncon- 
scious, that  is  he  does  not  notice,  he  does  not  observe, 
he  is  ignorant,  he  does  not  know.  While  in  such  a  state, 
it  matters  not  what  may  be  his  surroundings,  what  per- 
sons may  be  near  him,  what  may  be  taking  place,  what 
injuries  may  be  inflicted  upon  him,  he  simply  takes  no 


2  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

knowledge  of  them  all;  he  comes  to  consciousness  as  he 
begins  to  observe,  to  notice,  to  know. 

A  state  or  condition  of  Consciousness  is  that  in  which 
we  are  observing  and  taking  knowledge  of  ourselves  and 
our  surroundings,  that  is  of  ourselves  and  of  all  our 
mental  or  spiritual  operations  and  experiences,  and  also 
of  our  bodies  and  all  that  which  surrounds  us  in  the 
world,  so  far  as  they  come  within  the  range  of  our  ob- 
servation ;  and  to  be  conscious  of  any  individual  thing  is 
to  know,  or  take  knowledge  of  it.  Considered  as  a  power 
or  attribute  of  the  soul,  it  is  the  power  with  which  we 
have  been  endowed  of  knowing,  or  taking  knowledge  of 
the  things  of  self  and  of  the  world.  It  is  the  attribute 
of  Cognition,  or  the  power  to  cognize  things. 

This  power  or  attribute  of  the  soul  is  always  indivisibly 
One  and  the  Same,  whatever  be  the  character  of  its  ac- 
tivity or  the  nature  of  the  object  towards  which  it  is 
directed ;  the  only  distinctions  are  those  which  are  found 
in  the  objects  themselves.  We  have  the  one  power  of 
visual  perception,  no  matter  how  or  upon  what  we  em- 
ploy it.  It  remains  the  same,  whether  we  look  through 
the  unaided  eye  or  through  the  telescope  or  microscope 
— whether  we  look  into  and  through  the  deep  blue  of  the 
far-off  sky,  whose  depths  we  cannot  fathom,  or  upon  the 
flat  solid  spot  of  ground  whereon  we  stand — whether  we 
look  upon  stars  and  nebulae  upon  the  utmost  limits  of  the 
created  universe,  endeavoring  to  penetrate  regions  where 
even  the  imagination  at  its  utmost  stretch  falters  and 
fails,  or  upon  a  grain  of  sand  almost  invisible  close  at 
our  hand — whether  we  contemplate  the  great  beasts  of 
the  earth  in  forest  and  field,  or  observe  the  strange  living 
creatures  moving  in  a  drop  of  water  beneath  the  lens  of 
the  microscope — whether  with  wondering  admiration  and 
all-absorbing  interest  we  watch  "  the  human  face  divine," 
endeavoring  to  read  the  thoughts  and  emotions  of  the 
soul  within,  revealing  themselves  through  the  expression 


PERFECT  TRUST,  ONE  POWER       3 

of  the  eye  and  the  play  of  the  ever-changing  features,  or 
cast  a  glance  on  a  piece  of  stone,  which  the  foot  happens 
to  strike  as  we  walk. 

Varied  as  are  all  these  things  upon  which  we  look,  we 
see  them  all  alike  by  the  one  and  the  same  power  of 
visual  perception ;  we  take  knowledge  of  them,  we  cog- 
nize them,  we  are  conscious  of  them.  This  one  indivis- 
ible power  of  visual  perception  is  one  and  the  same  with 
consciousness,  the  soul's  attribute  of  knowing  or  cog- 
nizing things,  which  is  as  indivisible  as  is  the  power  of 
visual  perception.  This  latter  is  simply  our  indivisible 
power  of  consciousness  directed  towards,  and  engaged 
with  those  aspects,  traits,  or  properties  of  the  external, 
material  world,  which  are  revealed  through  light.  It  is 
this  self-same  power  which  makes  known  to  us  those 
aspects,  traits,  or  properties  of  matter  which  are  revealed 
by  sound,  flavor,  perfume  and  resistance,  or  touch. 
However  varied  these  are  from  one  another  and  from 
light,  they  no  more  imply  or  prove  different  mental 
powers  of  perception  or  cognition  than  do  the  varied 
objects  of  sight  imply  dififerent  powers  of  visual  percep- 
tion. In  this,  and  in  all  the  cases  mentioned,  we  take 
knowledge  of  the  varied  aspects  of  the  material  world  hy 
the  one  indivisible  power  of  Consciousness,  By  it  we 
cognize  all  that  is  revealed  by  light,  sound,  flavor,  per- 
fume, resistance  or  touch  ;  these  differ  from  one  another, 
being  different  aspects  or  properties  of  the  material 
world;  the  difference  is  in  them,  not  at  all  in  the  one 
power  by  which  they  are  cognized.  If  there  be  other 
properties  of  matter  of  which  we  are  ignorant;  in  order 
that  we  might  know  them,  there  would  be  need  not  of 
new  mental  endowment,  but  only  that  they  be  presented 
before  the  mind  by  new  bodily  organs  or  by  some  in- 
struments, such  as  the  microscope,  etc. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  this,  because  in  the  lan- 
guage which  is  often  used  there  seems  to  be  an  implica- 


4  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

tion  that  there  are  different  kinds  of  Consciousness, 
such  as  sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste  and  touch ;  and  also 
to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  one  indivisible  con- 
sciousness, by  which  we  take  knowledge  of  all  the 
diversified  objects  of  the  external  material  world,  is  the 
same  power  precisely  by  which  we  take  knowledge  of 
the  activities  and  experiences  of  the  inner  world  of  self, 
or  spirit,  and  of  all  primary,  fundamental,  or  axiomatic 
principles  or  truths.  This  is  often  called  Self-Conscious- 
ness, with  the  more  or  less  definite  suggestion  that  it  is 
in  itself  in  some  way  different  from  our  consciousness  of 
the  things  of  the  external  material  world ;  or  at  least  in 
the  use  of  this  name  there  is  often  the  neglect  of  em- 
phasizing the  fact  that  our  Consciousness  is  one  indi- 
visible power,  and  that  by  this  one  selfsame  power  we 
look,  on  the  one  hand,  on  the  inner  world  of  self,  and, 
on  the  other,  on  the  external  world  of  matter ;  the  only 
difference  being  in  the  objects  towards  which  conscious- 
ness directs  its  attention ;  just  as  in  visual  perception, 
the  power  of  seeing  remains  the  same,  however  varied  or 
contradictory  the  objects  seen  may  be.  Figuratively 
speaking.  Consciousness  may  be  called  the  eye  of  the 
soul  by  which  it  sees,  knows  the  things  of  the  inner  and 
outer  world  which  are  present  to  it. 

With  this  understanding  of  Consciousness,  it  is  evi- 
dent why  it  is  infallible,  and  is  always  relied  upon  as 
perfectly  trustworthy.  It  is  because  it  is  the  seeing  and 
knowing  the  things  themselves. 

The  explanation  of  the  infallibility  of  Consciousness, 
and  of  the  necessary  and  universal  trust  placed  in  it, 
which  is  often  given,  is  largely  unsatisfactory.  A  great 
deal  of  mystery  is  often  thrown  over  it  which  is  not  at 
all  necessary. 

We  do  not  deny  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  profound 
mystery,  so  profound  that  of  it  we  can  form  no  concep- 
tion   whatever,   but    this    is    equally    the    case    with    all 


WHY   INFALLIBLE  5 

things  with  which  we  have  to  do.  We  speak  of  Con- 
sciousness as  the  power,  or  attribute  of  the  soul  to 
know  the  things  which  are  present  to  it,  but  who  can 
understand  this?  Who  can  explain  how  this  is?  Who 
can  even  conceive  it  possible  beyond  the  simple  knowl- 
edge of  the  fact?  Here  is  a  profoundest  mystery  into 
which  we  can  in  no  wise  penetrate ;  the  more  we 
endeavor  to  do  so,  the  more  are  we  impressed  with  its 
impenetrability;  before  it  thought  and  imagination  stand 
paralyzed.  But  this  is  that  which  we  experience  every- 
where else.  Gravitation  is  the  power  by  which  every 
particle  of  matter  attracts  every  other  particle,  however 
far  separated  these  may  be;  a  power  of  tremendous 
force,  holding  worlds  such  as  ours  in  their  orbits,  as 
they  move  around  the  sun  millions  of  miles  distant,  and 
controlling  the  movements  of  the  unnumbered  worlds  of 
space;  worlds  greater  far  than  ours,  and  separated  from 
one  another  by  distances  of  which  the  mind  can  form  no 
thought.  Who  can  tell  what  this  power  is,  or  explain 
the  how,  or  can  think  it  possible  beyond  the  knowledge 
of  the  fact  ?  This  is  as  deep  a  mystery  as  is  Conscious- 
ness. The  same  truth  appears  in  regard  to  all  other 
things.  Who  can  understand  cohesion,  the  force  which 
binds  together  the  atoms  of  matter  giving  tensile 
strength ;  that  of  a  rod,  or  bar  of  steel  almost  passes 
belief;  or  the  expansive  force  of  steam?  Who  knows 
what  electricity  is,  or  magnetism?  What  possible  con- 
ception can  any  one  have  of  how  seeds  and  plants  grow? 
The  most  advanced  scientist  is  as  ignorant  as  an  un- 
taught child  ;  he  may  state  the  successive  steps  in  the 
life-process,  but  to  him  the  how  is  utterly  unknown ;  no 
one  can  explain  the  vital  union  between  soul  and  body 
in  man.  Such  facts  as  these  we  know  as  facts,  but  that 
is  all — they  arise  from  within  the  mystery  from  which 
they  refuse  to  come  forth.  And  so  with  Consciousness ; 
it  is  that  inexplicable,  mysterious  power  of  the  soul,  by 
which  we  know  the  things  which  are  present  to  us. 


6  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

But  while  we  leave  the  mystery  attached  to  this  power 
of  the  soul  untouched,  we  must  not  add  mysteries  which 
do  not  belong  to  it,  and  leave  unexplained  that  which 
admits  of  explanation.  This  is  done  by  those  who  refer 
the  necessary  and  universal  confidence  in  the  truthfulness 
of  Consciousness  to  irrepressible  beliefs,  which  spring  up 
within  all  men  upon  the  occasion  of  the  acts  of  con- 
sciousness; men,  it  is  said,  are  conscious  of  things,  they 
know  them,  and  then  they  believe  in  their  reality  and 
truth.  This  is  but  explaining  one  mystery  by  calling  in 
another  equally  profound.  It  might  well  be  asked, 
whence  this  belief?  what  makes  it  come?  what  makes 
it  irresistible?  To  this  no  answer  can  be  given,  except 
that  such  is  the  constitution  of  our  nature,  we  are  so 
made.  But  this  is  as  mysterious  as  the  thing  to  be  ex- 
plained, and  hence  we  might  as  well  be  content  with  the 
original ;  or  it  amounts  simply  to  saying  the  same  thing 
in  other  words — to  trust  in  the  truth  of  Consciousness 
is  to  believe  in  it,  and  to  believe  in  it  is  to  trust  it. 

Moreover,  the  supposition  of  these  beliefs  is  not 
needed,  and  involves  a  wrong  thought  and  an  improper 
use  of  language.  When  we  kftow  a  thing,  it  is  not  right 
to  say  we  believe  it;  for  our  assurance  in  regard  to  it  is 
not  from  belief,  but  from  knowledge,  and  this  is  the  true 
statement  and  explanation  of  our  confidence  in  the  infal- 
libility of  consciousness.  This  is  not  an  indefinite,  inex- 
plicable, mysterious  belief,  but  direct  and  positive  knowl- 
edge. As  we  know  things  by  that  power,  which  enables 
us  to  know  things  which  are,  it  is  simply  impossible  for 
such  knowledge  to  be  incorrect.  We  cannot  take  knowl- 
edge of  that  which  is  not.  If  I  hear  a  sound,  there  must 
be  a  sound  which  I  hear;  if  I  see  a  light,  there  must  be 
a  light  which  I  see ;  if  I  feel  a  pain,  there  must  be  a  pain 
which  I  feel.  It  is  a  clear  contradiction  to  say  that  I  am 
conscious  of,  that  I  take  knowledge  of  something  and 
that  the  exact  thing  which  I  cognize  is  not.     All  men. 


INTUITION  7 

when  they  know,  know  that  they  know,  and  can  think  of 
and  can  ask  for  no  firmer  foundation  than  this. 

Herein  is  the  simple  and  satisfactory  explanation  of 
the  necessary  and  universal  confidence  in  the  infallibility 
of  Consciousness,  without  the  complication  of  introduc- 
ing a  mysterious  belief,  which  is  evidently  unneeded. 
However  mysterious,  and  this  can  not  be  exaggerated, 
the  power  with  which  we  have  been  endowed  may  be, 
that  of  taking  knowledge  of  things  which  are,  let  it  be 
that  we  have  such  power  in  active  exercise,  and  it  follows 
as  a  matter  self-evidently  true,  with  nothing,  mysterious 
or  strange  about  it,  that  its  declarations  be  infallible,  and 
that  men  with  one  consent  rely  upon  them  with  implicit 
confidence. 

We  have  called  Consciousness  the  eye  of  the  soul,  that 
power  by  which  the  soul  looks  upon,  cognizes  the  things 
which  are,  of  the  inner  and  outer  world ;  hence  it  may 
be  and  has  been  called  '^  Intuition ^  These  are  one  and 
the  same.  "Intuition"  is  simply  another  name  for  Con- 
sciousness, It  is  derived  from  the  Latin  "?'//,"  upon  and 
^^ tueor"  to  look;  hence  its  meaning,  "to  look  upon," 
"to  see."  It  is,  therefore,  an  appropriate  name  for 
Consciousness,  which  looks  upon,  sees,  knows  the  things 
which  are  present  to  it.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind, 
however,  in  using  this  designation,  that  it  is  the  figura- 
tive term  ;  consciousness  being  the  exact  expression  of 
the  power  and  act  of  which  we  are  speaking.  The  thing 
which  we  do  in  and  by  consciousness  is  "  a  taking  knowl- 
edge of,"  a  "cognizing,"  and  this  is  the  meaning  of  this 
word,  its  derivation  being  from  the  Latin  "r<?«"  with, 
and  '' scio''  to  know. 

There  are  not  two  powers  within  us,  one  by  which  we 
see,  and  another  by  which  we  know  that  which  we  see ; 
as  though  we  first  saw  an  object,  and  then  and  thereby 
knew  it.  There  is  only  the  one  power,  that  by  which 
we  directly  take  knowledge  of   the  thing  present  itself. 


8  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

This  is  Consciousness,  and  it  is  only  figuratively  speaking, 
and  in  the  use  of  another  name  that  we  call  this 
"  Intuition."  This  word,  however,  has  the  value  of  an 
illustration,  calling  attention  to  an  essential  characteristic 
of  consciousness,  which  is  in  some  danger  of  being  dis- 
regarded. The  illustration  is  from  the  eye.  We  see 
that  which  is  present  at  the  moment  of  sight,  and  that 
which  we  see  is  the  thing  itself.  This  is  the  truth  as  to 
Consciousness.  We  are  not  conscious  of  the  past,  nor 
of  the  future,  nor  of  that  which  is  beyond  our  reach,  or 
immediate  presence;  we  take  knowledge  only  of  that 
which  is  present  at  the  moment  of  cognition,  and  we 
know  the  thing  itself. 

Many,  if  not  most,  writers  make  a  Divisio7i  of  our 
intuitions,  separating  them  into  "  Intuitive  Cognitions," 
"Intuitive  Beliefs,"  "Intuitive  Judgments."  This,  how- 
ever, is  a  division  which  is  not  admissible ;  it  rests  upon 
a  confusion  of  thought,  is  itself  incorrect,  and  is  fruitful 
of  error.  We  have  intuitive  cognitions,  but  no  intuitive 
beliefs  and  judgments ;  that  which  is  mistaken  for  these 
latter,  belong  in  reality  to  the  former. 

Our  cognitive  powers  embrace  all  the  varied  attributes 
and  activities  of  our  intelligence  by  which  we  obtain  and 
retain  knowledge ;  by  which  we  discriminate,  analyze, 
work  over,  mould,  and  fashion  this  material;  by  which 
we  reflect  and  argue  and  reason,  infer  and  generalize, 
discover  laws  and  principles,  pass  from  the  known  to  the 
unknown,  construct  sciences  and  build  up  systems  of 
philosophy. 

Among  these  powers  is  that  by  which  we  take  knowl- 
edge of  the  things  of  the  inner  and  outer  world  ;  and 
hence  its  activities  may  properly  be  called  "  Intuitive 
Cognitions."  It  is  evident,  however,  that  "intuitive" 
can  not  be  applied  to  our  "  Beliefs."  Belief  is  a  convic- 
tion, or  assurance  founded  upon  reasons,  proofs,  argu- 
ments, inferences,  conjectures,  experiments,  experience, 


NO  INTUITIVE  BELIEFS  9 

suggestions,  intimations,  testimony.  Upon  the  testi- 
mony of  others  we  believe  that  which  we  have  been  told, 
that  which  we  have  been  taught ;  we  believe  that  which 
God  has  revealed  in  the  volume  of  His  Holy  Word.  We 
accept  that  which  scientists  teach  us  of  astronomy  and 
geology,  chemistry^  electricity,  of  organic  structure  and 
life,  vegetable  and  animal.  Many  of  these  things  we 
believe  not  simply  upon  mere  affirmation,  but  because  of 
the  reasons  and  proofs  which  are  given.  Leverrier 
believed,  because  of  certain  irregularities  in  the  move- 
ments of  the  planets,  that  there  must  be  another  un- 
known planet;  he  believed  because  of  the  calculations 
which  he  made,  that  the  planet  might  be  seen  at  a  par- 
ticular time  and  place,  where  it  was  found  to  be  by  the 
telescope,  directed  according  to  his  instructions.  This 
is  the  essential  character  of  belief ;  and  belief  is  of  value 
according  to  the  value  of  the  testimony,  or  foundation 
upon  which  it  rests ;  a  belief  which  has  no  foundation,  or 
which  rests  upon  we  know  not  what,  is  nothing  more 
nor  better  than  a  vain  superstition. 

Such  being  the  nature  of  Belief,  it  evidently  cannot  be 
"Intuitive."  Intuition  is  immediate  knowledge,  which 
is  precisely  that  which  belief  is  not;  in  contradistinction 
from  the  immediate  knowing  a  thing,  belief  is  a  mediate 
persuasion  or  conviction  regarding  it,  that  is  a  convic- 
tion arising  through  or  by  means  of  something  else.  A 
belief  which  arises  within  us  we  know  not  why,  nor  how, 
is  superstition.  If  it  be  said  to  arise  in  connection  with, 
or  because  of  intuitive  cognition,  it  is  identified  with  it, 
and  its  true  name  and  nature  is  intuitive  cognition,  not 
intuitive  belief.  It  is  abuse  of  language  and  confusion 
of  thought  to  say  we  believe  because  we  know;  if  we 
already  know,  there  is  no  room,  and  no  need  for  belief. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  same  argument  could  be 
directed  against  intuitive  cognitions ;  why  should  they 
not  be  cast  aside  as  mere  superstitions  without  founda- 


lo  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

tion,  if  they  arise  within  the  mind  immediately,  that  is 
without  something  else  through  or  by  which  they  come, 
without  our  knowing  why  or  wherefore?  How  are  they 
any  better  than  beliefs  of  like  character,  which  are  only 
vain  superstitions?  The  answer  is,  that  this  is  not  a  true 
presentation  of  the  case.  Immediate  cognition  does  not 
mean  that  the  cognition  is  itself  not  by  or  through  the 
means  of  anything;  that  it  has  no  foundation;  that  it 
arises  within  us  we  know  not  why  nor  wherefore;  it 
means  only  that  there  is  nothing  between  the  knowing 
mind  and  the  known  object  through  which  this  is  cog- 
nized; the  object  itself  is  directly  known.  The  founda- 
tion and  the  reason,  the  efficient  explanation  of  the  case 
is,  that  the  mind  has  the  power  of  taking  knowledge  of 
things,  and  in  the  exercise  of  that  power  cognizes  them 
when  and  because  they  are  present ;  the  reality  and  pres- 
ence of  the  objects  are  the  cause  of  the  cognitions. 

It  is  scientific,  reasonable  and  satisfactory  to  speak  of 
intuitive  cognitions,  but  it  is  altogether  otherwise  in 
regard  to  intutive  beliefs ;  there  are  and  there  can  be 
none  such.  Beliefs  cannot  be  properly  called  intuitive 
even  in  a  secondary  sense,  that  is  because  they  fashion 
and  build  themselves  upon  the  material  presented  by 
intuitive  cognition;  for  this  is  equally  true  of  all  other 
mental  powers,  as  memory,  imagination,  reflection,  dis- 
cursive reasoning.  We  take  the  varied  objects  which 
we  have  intuitively  observed  in  the  material  world,  and 
by  our  power  of  imagination  we  construct  imagery  of  a 
kaleidoscopic  character,  we  build  extravagant  castles  in 
the  air;  but  it  would  be  absurd  to  call  these  intuitive: 
and  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  which  has  so  often 
been  insisted  upon,  that  all  the  fantasies  which  we  have 
are  framed  out  of  that  which  we  primarily  obtain  through 
intuitive  cognition.  So  with  all  our  mental  operations. 
Moreover,  our  beliefs  in  building  themselves  upon  our 
intuitive    cognitions,    accept    them    as    truths    already 


NO  INTUITIVE  JUDGMENTS  ii 

known ;  they  do  not  confer  truth  upon  them.  With 
these  truths  at  hand,  having  infallibility  attached  to 
them,  we  form  our  beliefs  which  may  be  of  the  most 
uncertain  character.  Our  beliefs  depend  for  truth  and 
trustworthiness  largely  upon  ourselves;  upon  how  far 
they  properly  spring  from  the  data  upon  which  we  build 
them.  Indeed  an  element  of  uncertainty  seems  to  be 
inherent  in  even  the  strongest  faith.  The  Christian's 
full  assurance  of  faith  eventually  passes  into  sight,  which 
is  far  better.  The  universally  accepted  proverb  "seeing 
is  believing,"  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  view  which  we 
have  presented.  It  is  not  meant  to  be  scientifically 
exact;  it  is  ordinary,  popular  language.  The  meaning 
is  not  that  we  see,  that  is  know,  and  then  assuredly  be- 
lieve, but  that  all  doubt  and  uncertainty  are  swept  away 
by  immediate  knowledge.  The  people  of  Samaria  said 
to  the  woman,  "  now  we  believe  not  because  of  thy  say- 
ing, for  we  have  heard  Him  ourselves  and  know  that 
this  is  indeed  the  Christ;"  their  belief  founded  upon 
testimony  had  passed  into  immediate  knowledge. 

In  like  manner,  properly  speaking,  we  have  no  intu- 
itive judgments;  these  though  thus  designated  are  in 
reality  intuitive  cognitions.  In  Worcester's  Dictionary 
to  judge  is  defined  thus,  "  to  compare  things  in  order  to 
form  a  correct  opinion."  Others  speak  of  this  power  as 
that  of  "Comparison,"  by  which  we  perceive  relations. 
Dr.  McCosh  says  "It  is  said  to  be  the  office  of  judg- 
ment or  comparison  to  discover  relations."  Our  judg- 
ments, therefore,  have  an  element  of  uncertainty;  the 
opinions  which  one  person  forms  may  be  very  different 
from  those  of  another;  some  persons  are  noted  for  their 
reliable  judgments,  another  is  equally  noted  for  his  ill 
judgments.  This  is  very  unlike  intuition,  which  is  essen- 
tially infallible.  It  is,  however,  claimed  that  while  the 
above  is  true  of  our  judgments  in  general,  there  are 
some  few  relations  which  are  self-evidently  true,  and  are 


12  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

immediately  perceived  by  all  men  when  they  are  pre- 
sented to  the  mind,  and  that  these  are  therefore  intuitive 
judgments. 

But  this  cannot  be,  because  the  essential  element  of 
judgment  is  wanting.  In  the  case  supposed,  we  make 
no  comparison  and  form  no  opinion  upon  the  result  of 
such  comparison  of  relations ;  if  we  did  we  might  be 
right  or  wrong  in  so  doing.  The  simple  fact  is,  that 
there  are  things  and  relations  between  things,  some  of 
which  latter  are  self-evident  and  are  "  immediately  cog- 
nized at  the  same  moment,  and  by  the  same  act  in  which 
the  things  themselves  are  known ;  or  by  a  more  pro- 
longed, careful  and  scrutinizing  observation.  Thus  when 
I  see  two  trees,  I  see  that  they  are  two,  not  one ;  that 
they  are  near  one  another,  or  far  apart ;  that  one  is  larger 
than  the  other;  that  one  is  erect  and  that  the  other 
stands  at  a  decided  angle.  A  careless  observer,  or  one 
who  has  looked  but  for  a  moment  may  not  have  noticed 
these  and  other  relations,  but  to  do  so  he  needs  only  a 
repeated  or  prolonged  and  careful  look;  he  perceives 
them  by  the  same  power,  that  of  immediate  cognition,  by 
which  the  things  themselves  are  seen ;  not  by  another 
power,  that  of  making  comparisons  and  forming  opin- 
ions :  the  so-called  intuitive  judgments  are  really  intuitive 
cognitions. 

So  true  is  this  that  other  writers,  even  those  who 
claim  that  there  are  intuitive  judgments,  find  it  very  dif- 
ficult to  separate  between  these  judgments  and  cogni- 
tions, and  use  language  which  clearly  implies  that  they 
are  one  and  the  same.  Thus  Dr.  McCosh  says  "  I  give 
the  mind  within  rigid  limits  an  intuition  both  of  things 
and  the  relation  of  things."  But  what  is  the  difference 
between  these  intuitions?  are  they  not  both  the  imme- 
diate cognition,  on  the  one  hand  of  things,  and  on  the 
other  of  their  relations.  Again  he  says,  "The  two  in- 
deed, our  primary  cognitions  and  beliefs  on  the  one  hand 


NO  INTUITIVE  JUDGMENTS  13 

and  our  primary  judgments  on  the  other,  are  intimately 
connected.  Every  cognition  furnishes  the  materials  of  a 
judgment,  and  a  judgment  possible,  I  do  not  say  actual, 
is  involved  in  every  cognition.  As  the  relation  is  implied 
in  the  nature  of  the  individual  objects,  and  the  judgment 
proceeds  on  the  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  the  objects, 
so  the  two,  in  fact,  may  be  all  but  simultaneous,  it  may 
scarcely  be  necessary  to  distinguish  between  them  ex- 
cept for  exact  philosophic  purposes.  Still  it  is  the  cog- 
nition which  comes  first  and  forms  the  basis  on  which 
the  judgments  are  founded ;  in  the  case  of  primitive  judg- 
ments, directly  founded.  It  should  be  frankly  admitted 
that  what  is  given  in  primary  cognition  is  in  itself  of  the 
vaguest  and  most  valueless  character,  till  abstraction  and 
comparison  are  brought  to  bear  upon  it."  In  this  Dr. 
McCosh  makes  the  connection  very  close  between  our 
primary  cognitions  and  judgments  ;  it  is  "  scarcely  nec- 
essary to  distinguish  between  them  except  for  rigidly 
exact  philosophic  purposes." 

He  seems  also  to  greatly  underrate  the  value  of  that 
which  is  given  in  our  primary  cognition  before  abstrac- 
tion and  comparison  are  brought  to  bear  upon  it.  With- 
out these  it  is  clear,  definite  and  of  solid  worth,  provided 
we  give  it  prolonged  and  careful  observation ;  if  we  give 
our  concentrated  attention,  we  see  what  we  see,  we  know 
what  we  know.  It  is  also  to  be  observed,  that  here  it  is 
said,  that  the  judgments  are  formed  and  founded  upon 
the  primary  cognitions  by  abstraction  and  comparison. 
But  the  moment  we  form  such  judgments  we  employ 
other  cognitive  powers,  and  rise  above  the  sphere  of  in- 
tuition and  introduce  an  element  of  uncertainty.  This 
appears  still  more  from  that  which  Dr.  McCosh  says 
further,  "  I  believe  that  every  primary  cognition  may 
entitle  me  to  form  a  number  of  primary  judgments." 
This  is  not  intuition,  but  opinion  formed  by  abstraction 
and  comparison,  which   may  be  at  fault.     Also  "all  the 


14  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

primitive  judgments  of  the  mind  are  Individual.  It  is 
out  of  these  individual  judgments  that  the  general  maxim 
is  obtained  by  a  process  of  generalization.  But  this  is  to 
be  observed  that  it  is  not  a  generalization  of  an  outward 
experience  *  *  *  but  of  inward  and  immediate  judgments 
of  the  mind  which  carry  in  themselves  the  conviction  of 
necessity,  which  necessity,  therefore,  will  attach  itself  to 
the  general  maxim,  on  the  condition  of  our  having  prop- 
erly performed  the  discursive  operation."  From  this  and 
the  previous  quotation  it  appears  that  these  so-called 
primary  judgments  as  general  maxims,  as  well  as  indi- 
vidually, are  formed  by  the  discursive  understanding  and 
are  of  truth  only  as  the  operation  has  been  properly  per- 
formed. 

It  is  evident  that  our  Judgments  cannot  be  spoken  of 
as  intuitive,  without  being  identified  with  intuitive  cog- 
nitions ;  otherwise  they  are  lifted  entirely  beyond  intui- 
tions and  belong  to  discursive  reasoning,  or  there  is 
hopeless  confusion  of  cognitions  and  judgments.  At 
times  Dr.  McCosh  speaks  as  though  he  recognized  that 
"primary  judgments"  were  really  cognitions.  Thus 
"We  discover  the  relations  in  looking  at  things."  That 
is,  we  know  the  relations  in  knowing  the  things.  "When 
we  are  led  to  discover  a  necessary  relation,  it  is  because 
we  have  such  an  acquaintance  with  things  as  to  observe 
that  there  is  a  relation  implied  in  their  very  nature." 
"  If  the  question  be  asked — How  do  we  know  that  two 
straight  lines  cannot  enclose  space,  and  that  time  has 
length  without  breadth  ?  the  answer  is  that  all  this  is 
involved  in  our  primary  knowledge  of  space  and  time." 
"  I  give  the  mind  within  rigid  limits  an  intuition  both  of 
things  and  the  relation  of  things."  There  could  hardly 
be  more  positive  af^rmation  that  we  know  relations  and 
things  alike  by  intuitive  cognition. 

Other  writers  make  a  close  connection  between  pri- 
mary cognitions  and  judgments.     Sir  William  Hamilton, 


IMMEDIATE  COGNITION  15 

quoted  by  Dr.  McCosh,  says:  "Consciousness  is  pri- 
marily a  judgment,  or  affirmation  of  existence;"  again, 
"Consciousness  is  not  merely  the  affirmation  of  naked 
existence,  but  the  affirmation  of  a  certain  qualified,  or 
determinate  existence.'"  He  also  says,  "  Sir  William 
Hamilton  and  Dr.  Mansel  maintain  that  in  every  cog- 
nitive act  there  is  judgment  and  comparison." 

To  avoid  all  difficulty  and  confusion,  to  have  clear  and 
distinct  thought  and  to  express  the  exact  truth,  we  must 
recognize  the  fact  that  there  are  no  intuitive  judgments ; 
that  the  so-called  intuitive  judgments  are  in  reality 
intuitive  cognitions ;  that  the  mind  has  the  power  of 
immediately  cognizing  things,  and  in  so  doing  takes 
knowledge  of  the  things  themselves  as  they  are  and  what 
they  are — their  nature,  characteristics,  properties,  rela- 
tions, laws,  their  actions  and  reactions  upon  one  an- 
other. It  is  only  by  cognizing  all  these,  that  we  cognize 
the  things.  By  long  continued,  repeated,  careful  atten- 
tion, scrutinizing  observation,  we  take  knowledge  of 
much  which  before  was  unknown.  We  take  knowledge 
that  some  of  the  things  discerned  are  invariable,  and 
some  necessary,  that  is,  are  involved  in  the  nature  of  the 
things  as  we  take  knowledge  of  them,  and  upon  these 
intuitive  cognitions,  we  by  discursive  reasoning,  by  com- 
parison, discrimination,  generalization  form  our  opinions, 
or  judgments,  fundamental  truths,  formulated  principles, 
axioms,  etc.,  all  of  which  are  founded  upon  and  built  up 
out  of  intuitions,  but  are  not  themselves  intuitive. 

It  is  a  serious  error  to  mistake  intuitive  cognitions 
for  intuitive  judgments.  The  fact  that  the  reality,  the 
aspects,  characteristics,  the  nature,  the  laws,  the  relations 
are  involved  in  our  primary  cognition  of  things,  are  the 
very  things  which  we  take  knowledge  of  in  cognizing 
things,  may  be  regarded  as  positive  proof  that  the  so- 
called  intuitive  judgments  are  cognitions.  There  are 
judgments  which  may  be  called  first  principles,  funda- 


i6  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

mental  truths,  in  the  sense  that  they  are  the  deepest 
down,  or  first  judgments,  those  which  lie  at  the  founda- 
tion of  our  discursive  reasoning,  and  from  which  such 
reasoning  springs.  These  judgments  may  readily  be 
mistaken  as  intuitive,  in  as  much  as  they  touch  so  closely 
upon  our  intuitive  cognitions,  and  the  discursive  opera- 
tion by  which  they  are  formed  takes  place  almost 
imperceptibly,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  cog- 
nitions, and  is  so  short,  simple  and  quick,  and  with  such 
little  possibility  of  error.  Formulated  into  propositions, 
they  are  fundamental  truths,  first  principles,  axioms,  and 
being  directly  founded  upon  intuitive  cognitions  they 
have  the  quality  of  necessary  truths,  provided  the  dis- 
cursive operation  by  which  they  have  been  formed  be 
correct. 

We  find  in  Dr.  McCosh  an  interesting  and  striking 
illustration  that  these  judgments  are  liable  to  error,  and 
hence  are  not  intuitive.  He  affirms  that  he  and  all  men 
have  an  intuitive  judgment  that  Time  and  Space  are  in- 
finite. This  is  a  simple  impossibility.  We  have  an  intui- 
tion only  of  that  which  is  present,  but  infinite  time  and 
space  are  not  present  to  us,  but  only  a  moment  of  time 
and  a  very  limited  extent  of  space.  Infinite  time  and 
space  are,  therefore,  beyond  the  sphere  of  intuition  ;  it 
can  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  Moreover,  it  is  not 
true  that  Time  and  Space  are  infinite.  Time  is  succes- 
sive, lengthened-out  duration,  with  a  beginning  and  with 
an  end,  though  not,  as  yet  at  least,  a  final  end;  from  the 
present  moment  to  the  beginning  of  time  is  a  measur- 
able period,  ever  increasing  as  the  present  moment 
moves  on.  This  is  finite,  and  is  that  which  the  infinite 
is  not.  Infinite  duration  is  without  beginning,  without 
succession  and  without  end;  it  is  Eternity,  not  Time. 
So  also  Space  is  measured  expansion,  or  length,  or  dis- 
tance. Known  space  is  the  distance  from  one  known 
point  to  another;  imaginary  space   is    the  distance  be- 


EXAMPLES  OF  ERROR  17 

tween  imaginary  or  supposed  points.  We  may  thus  go 
beyond  the  outer  bound  of  the  created  universe,  as  far 
as  imagination  can  bear  us,  but  all  is  finite,  beyond  is 
Infinitude.  What  Eternity  and  Infinitude  are  we  know 
not;  and  how  these  touch  and  stand  related  to  Time  and 
Space  we  know  not.  Any  judgment  which  declares  these 
latter  to  be  infinite  is  false,  as  is  also  any  which  identifies, 
or  confounds  them  with  Eternity  and  Infinitude. 

Dr.  McCosh  says  again  that  we  have  an  intuitive  judg- 
ment that  two  parallel  lines  can  never  meet.  Here  again 
he  is  evidently  at  fault.  This  does  not  come  within  the 
range  of  intuition,  in  as  much  as  two  lines  of  indefinite 
extension  cannot  be  present  to  the  mind  for  it  to  take 
knowledge  of,  and  even  of  two  short  lines  which  are  in 
sight  we  can  not  tell  whether  they  are  absolutely  parallel 
or  not.  To  one  person  they  may  seem  to  be  so.  while 
another  may  detect  a  slight  inclination  of  one  to  the 
other,  or  the  convergence  may  be  so  slight  that  it  can 
not  be  detected  by  the  most  careful  instrumental  meas- 
urement, but  will  reveal  itself  if  the  lines  be  extended  to 
a  very  great  distance.  The  only  intuition  is  that  of  two 
straight  lines  which  are  apparently  at  the  same  distance 
from  one  another  throughout  their  entire  length.  Be- 
yond this  the  case  is  purely  hypothetical;  the  supposition 
is  made  that  these  lines  are  absolutely  parallel,  and  that 
as  parallel  lines  they  are  indefinitely  extended,  upon 
which  supposition  it  is  af^rmed,  that  they  can  never 
meet.  This  is  nothing  more  than  saying,  parallel  lines 
are  parallel  lines — lines  which  do  not  converge  towards 
one  another,  do  not  converge  towards  one  another. 
The  definition  of  the  hypothetical  lines  is,  that  through- 
out their  entire  length  they  are  at  the  same  distance 
apart.  It  is  a  mere  supposition  of  lines  which  never 
meet.  Evidently  in  such  a  case  to  speak  of  intuitive 
cognition,  and  intuitive  beliefs,  and  intuitive  judgments 
founded  upon  these  and  having  the  character  of  self- 
2 


i8  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

evident  necessity  and  universality,  is  to  confuse  and 
darken  knowledge  by  a  form  of  words. 

Let  us  be  plain,  simple,  direct,  and  let  us  understand 
ourselves,  and  be  satisfied  with  the  proposition,  supposi- 
tion, or  statement,  lines  which  we  call  parallel  are  those 
which  are  at  the  same  distance  apart  throughout  their 
entire  length,  be  it  short  or  long. 

As  we  have  already  pointed  out  that  there  are  no  in- 
tuitive beliefs,  so  now  we  have  also  shown  that  there 
are  no  intuitive  judgments.  To  make  the  state  of  the 
case  plain,  it  may  be  said  that  the  so-called  intuitive 
judgments,  so  far  as  they  have  the  element  of  intuition, 
are  intuitive  cognitions ;  and  so  far  as  they  are  without 
this,  they  are  the  product  of  the  discursive  understand- 
ing; in  which  case  they  are  liable  to  error,  and  may  be 
a  mere  form  of  words,  as  we  have  pointed  out. 

It  is  all  important  that  we  have  a  clear  and  definite 
thought  of  Consciousness.  It  is  the  prime  source  of  all 
our  knowledge.  Without  it  we  know  nothing,  not  even 
our  own  existence.  By  it  we  take  knowledge  of  the 
things  of  the  inner  and  exterior  worlds ;  the  material 
thus  gained  is  that  upon  which  all  our  mental  and  spirit- 
ual powers  operate,  and  out  of  which  they  fashion  all  the 
thoughts  and  fancies  and  hopes  and  fears,  all  the  truths, 
the  laws,  principles,  axioms,  sciences,  philosophies  and 
high  soaring  conceptions  and  aspirations  of  soul  which 
we  possess — all  the  garnered  memories  and  gathered  rich 
experience  of  ourselves  and  of  our  race. 

Even  Divine  Revelation  comes  to  us  in  the  same  way. 
This  is  not  communicated  to  us  by  direct  act  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  upon  our  spirits,  but  by  the  external  writ- 
ten word  which  we  must  read,  or  spoken  word  which 
we  must  hear.  Without  these  we  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  revealed  truths  of  the  Christian  Religion.  Even  the 
truths  of  Natural  Religion  come  to  us  through  the  con- 
sciousness   which  we  have  of  that  which  is  within  our- 


DEFINITE  THOUGHT  NEEDED  19 

selves,  and  in  the  material  world  in  which  we  live.  This 
is  not  inconsistent  with  the  fact,  that  the  Revelation 
of  God  was  given  to  certain  men  in  a  different  way;  for 
that  was  exceptional,  extraordinary,  miraculous,  super- 
natural, mysterious,  inexplicable. 

Consciousness  being  thus  all  important  the  want  of  a 
clear  and  definite  thought  concerning  it  is  disastrous. 
We  have  endeavored  to  present  such  thought  of  it.  It 
is  that  power  of  the  soul  with  which  we  have  been  en- 
dowed, by  which  we  take  knowledge  of  the  things  of  the 
inner  and  outer  worlds  ;  that  is  of  the  being,  the  reality, 
nature,  character,  aspects,  laws,  relations  of  these  things; 
this  knowledge  is  infallible,  because  it  is  the  cognizing 
of  things  which  are  and  which  are  present  to  conscious- 
ness. On  this  account  Consciousness  is  called  Intuition, 
an  additional  name,  meaning  to  look  upon;  and  serving 
to  emphasize  the  fact  just  mentioned,  Consciousness  be- 
ing, as  it  were,  an  eye  which  sees  things  which  are,  and 
when  they  are  within  sight  and  are  looked  upon.  This 
power  of  the  soul  is  one  and  indivisible,  no  matter  how 
varied  are  the  things  of  which  it  takes  knowledge, 
whether  they  be  of  the  inner  or  of  the  outer  world,  and 
all  its  operations  are  the  same;  these  cannot  be  divided 
into  Intuitive  Cognitions,  Beliefs  and  Judgments;  its 
one  and  only  operation  is  that  of  cognition.  Intuition 
is  the  intuitive  cognition  of  things. 

Consciousness  being  infallible  is  trustworthy  and  the 
Science  built  upon  it  by  the  inductive  method  rests  at 
least  upon  a  sure  foundation.  With  this  source  of 
knowledge,  ultimate  appeal  and  sure  foundation,  we  may 
proceed  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  ourselves  and  the 
world  ;  not  that  we  may  learn  all  things  and  fathom  all 
mysteries,  but  that  we  may  gain  a  knowledge  of  much 
that  is  within  the  reach  of  the  finite  human  intellect,  and 
gather  material  for  further  advancement  on  the  part  of 
those  who  shall  come  after  us. 


20  I.  CONSCIOUSNESS 

Our  Sphere  is  strictly  that  of  the  Finite;  into  the  in- 
finite we  cannot  go.  Of  it  we  cannot  think,  of  it  we 
cannot  speak  excepting  negatively.  The  Infinite  is  not 
the  finite.  Eternity  is  not  Time — Infinitude  is  not 
Space — Infinite  Wisdom  is  not  that  which  we  know  as 
Wisdom.  God's  thoughts  and  ways  are  not  as  ours. 
The  Wisdom  of  God  is  foolishness  with  men. 

My  illustration  is  that  of  an  eagle.  It  upon  strong 
and  tireless  wing  may  poise  itself  in  the  air,  may  go 
where  it  will  through  earth's  atmosphere,  rising  therein 
to  its  highest  altitudes,  but  it  cannot  pass  beyond.  Be- 
yond the  atmosphere  it  cannot  go;  there  it  could  not 
sustain  itself ;  there  it  could  not  move ;  there  it  could 
not  even  live.  So  we  upon  the  wings  of  thought  can 
range  at  pleasure  throughout  our  finite  sphere,  but 
have  710  power  to  pass  beyond.  Any  knowledge  which 
we  may  have  of  the  Infinite  must  come  through  a  super- 
natural revelation  ;  must  be  reduced  for  us  to  the  terms 
of  human  thought  and  speech;  must  remain  mysterious, 
unexplained,  inexplicable,  must  be  taken  entirely  upon 
trust;  as  to  its  truth,  its  possibility  or  impossibility  we 
have  nothing  to  say,  or  think  beyond  that  it  thus  stands 
revealed.  God  reveals  Himself  as  "The  One  in  Three 
and  the  Three  in  One;"  but  this  I  cannot  understand,  I 
cannot  judge  whether  it  is  possible  or  impossible;  but 
in  as  much  as  it  belongs  to  the  infinite,  I  simply  take  it 
upon  trust  on  the  ground  of  the  Divine  testimony. 

To  disregard  our  limitation  within  the  finite  and  to 
endeavor  to  penetrate  the  Infinite  is  most  unreasonable. 
Because  men  of  great  intellect  and  culture  have  been 
guilty  of  this  folly,  of  this  mental  somersault,  they  have 
fallen  into  serious  error. 

Confining  ourselves  rigidly  within  the  finite  and  with 
the  definite  thought  of  Consciousness,  which  we  have 
presented,  as  we  proceed  to  gain  a  knowledge  of  our- 
selves and  the  world,  the  question  arises  whence  are  we  ? 


Intautiue  ^^rce^jtiotx 

CHAPTER    II 

®ur  ©rigin 

Section  I — The  Testimony  of  Consciousness 

Some  knowledge  of  our  origin  is  derived  from  the 
direct  Testimony  of  Consciousness.  It  affirms  that  we 
are, — that  ours  is  a  continued  existence,  we  are  and  we 
continue  to  be.  Ours,  therefore,  is  a  past,  a  present  and 
an  ongoing  to  the  future.  Consciousness  affirms  that 
we  must  have  a  cause  which  brought  us  into  being ;  by 
cause  is  meant  a  power  adequate  to  produce  this  effect. 
We  must,  therefore,  have  a  Maker,  and  this  Maker,  to 
be  a  cause  adequate  for  such  an  effect  as  we  are,  must  be 
equal  to  us;  what  is  in  us  must  be  in  Him.  As  we  are 
living,  personal,  free,  intelligent,  moral  beings  and  agents, 
these  must  in  some  way  be  in  Him.  The  marks  of  in- 
telligent design  manifested  in  the  structure  of  a  seed, 
with  its  wonderful  endowments,  and  in  the  structure  of 
the  plant  with  its  root,  stem  and  leaves,  and  with  its  up- 
growing  to  maturity  of  flower  and  fruit  imply  and  prove 
intelligence  in  their  maker;  but  as  in  us  there  is  intelli- 
gence itself,  with  life  and  personality,  with  free-agency, 
the  Maker  of  these  must  all  the  more  assuredly  possess 
these  in  himself.  He  can  not  be  inferior  to  us  whom 
He  has  made.  He  must  be  as  high  in  the  scale  of  be- 
ing as  we  are.  He  must  be  a  living,  personal,  intelli- 
gent, moral  free-agent,  whatever  else  he  may  be;  how« 
ever  much  He  may  rise  above  and  beyond  us. 

Consciousness  in  affirming  that  we  are  living  persons 

21 


22  II    OUR    ORIGIN  Sec. 

©ur  real  JBeing  BeeD  of  a  /l^after 


and  that  we  must  have  an  adequate  cause,  affirms  that 
we  have  a  Maker  and  that  He  is  a  living  Person. 

This  may  be  regarded  as  a  Positive  Proof  of  a  Per- 
sonal God.  We  do  not  have  an  intuitive  cognition  of 
Him,  but  we  do  have  intuitive  cognition  of  facts  in  which 
His  being  is  involved,  and  that  His  being  is  thus  in- 
volved. We  thus  cognize  our  own  existence  as  living 
Persons ;  that,  being  what  we  are,  we  must  have  an  ade- 
quate cause;  that  such  cause  cannot  be  less  than,  nor 
inferior  to  the  effect  which  it  produces;  that  is,  simply 
stated  in  other  words,  the  cause  adequate  to  produce  us 
who  are  living  persons,  cannot  be  less  than,  nor  inferior 
to  the  living  persons  whom  it  produces;  or  to  express 
it  positively,  it  may  be  stated  thus :  the  cause  adequate 
to  produce  living  persons  must  at  least  be  equal  to  the 
living  persons  whom  it  produces.  We  lift  our  thoughts 
to  our  Maker,  and  this  is  the  intuition  which  we  have, 
"  I  am  a  living  person  and  my  Maker  must  be  as  much 
and  as  truly  a  living  Person  as  I  am,  whom  He  has 
made." 

This  cannot  be  invalidated  by  saying  that  in  like  man- 
ner the  Maker  of  a  vegetable  organism  must  be  a  vege- 
table organism  himself,  whatever  else  he  may  be,  whereas 
in  truth  He  is  so  far  removed  from  it,  that  there  is  no 
correspondence  between  the  two.  It  follows  that  our 
Maker  may  be  so  far  removed  from  us  that  there  is  no 
correspondence  between  us  as  intelligent  beings  and 
Him.  Because  He  has  made  us,  there  is  no  more  need 
that  He  be  a  living  Person,  than  that  he  be  a  vegetable 
organism  since  He  has  made  such  a  thing.  In  reply. 
The  intuitive  cognition  is  that  there  is  an  adequate  cause. 
This  is  as  true  of  the  vegetable  organism  as  it  is  of  our- 
selves. All  that  is  in  the  vegetable  organism  must  be  in 
its  Maker,  and  He  must  be  able  to  do  all  that  it  does. 
He  called  into  being  the  material  of  which   it   is   formed, 


CONSCIOUSNESS  23 

IProot  of  a  ipersonal  (3o& 


He  framed  its  structure,  endowed  it  with  its  properties, 
gave  it  its  laws  and  environment,  He  sustains  it  in  be- 
ing, and  His  is  the  intelHgence  which  is  manifested  in 
the  whole  complicated  wondrous  structure.  He  is  not 
the  thing  which  he  has  made,  but  there  is  an  exact  cor- 
respondence between  Him  and  it.  All  that  is  in  it,  the 
intelligence  manifested  in  its  design,  all  its  powers,  its 
"being"  were  and  are  in  Him,  as  He  is  the  inexhausti- 
ble source  of  such  things.  He  is  the  intelligent  Being 
possessed  of  all  the  powers  with  which  he  had  endowed 
the  vegetable  organism,  which  inhere  in  it  and  are  mani- 
fested in  its  activities.  In  like  manner  He  as  our  Maker 
is  not  ourselves,  the  creatures  whom  he  has  made,  but 
there  is  an  exact  correspondence  between  Him  and 
us,  as  is  the  case  between  Him  and  the  vegetable  organ- 
ism. All  that  is  in  us  is  in  Him,  from  whom  it  comes 
as  its  inexhaustible  source.  He  is  the  Being  who  pos- 
sesses all  the  powers  which  He  has  given  us,  which  in- 
here in  us  and  are  manifested  in  our  activities ;  intelli- 
gence, emotion,  will,  free-agency.  He  may  be  as  far  re- 
moved from  us  as  He  is  from  the  vegetable  organism, 
He  is  infinitely  exalted  above  us,  yet  it  remains  true  that, 
though  He  is  not  the  vegetable  organism,  nor  us  whom 
He  has  made,  all  that  it  and  we  have  and  are  He  has  and 
is.  In  thinking  of  the  plant  we  may  say  its  powers  of 
growing,  flowering  and  fruitage  are  God's  bestowed  upon 
it,  and  in  thinking  of  ourselves  we  may  affirm  that  our 
attributes  of  thought,  emotion,  morality,  will  and  free- 
agency  are  God's  bestowed  upon  us. 

This  proof  of  a  living.  Personal  God  seems  positive. 

It  will  be  observed  that  it  is  not  a  Judgment  which  we 
form,  nor  discursive  reasoning.  It  is  simply  an  intuitive 
Cognition  of  a  fact  which  in  its  simplicity  is,  "/«  living 
Person  have  an  adequate  caused 

The  word  adequate  is  superfluous,  but  I  have  used  it 


24  II    OUR    ORIGIN  Sec. 

B  ^aher  aOequate  for  persons 

to  emphasize  the  meaning  which  without  it  is  likely  to 
be  unnoticed.  An  inadequate  cause  is  not  a  cause.  By 
cause  is  meant  that  which  is  fully  equal  to  produce  the 
effect.  This  is  brought  out  distinctly  by  adding  the 
word  adequate,  as  I  have  done  for  this  purpose.  The 
meaning  of  the  cognition  or  the  fact  cognized  is,  "  I 
have  a  cause  competent  to  make  me  a  living  person;  to 
give  me  my  intelligence,  emotion,  will,  free-agency." 
But  this  is  what  we  mean  by  a  Personal  God  ;  Our  Maker, 
possessed  of  powers  which  He  gives  us,  those  of  intelli- 
gence, emotion,  will,  free-agency.  The  Maker,  that  is 
the  adequate  cause  of  the  material  world,  is  possessed  of 
the  powers  which  He  bestows  upon  it ;  the  Maker  of  the 
vegetable  world  is  possessed  of  the  powers  which  He 
gives  it ;  the  Maker  of  the  animal  world  is  possessed  of 
the  powers  which  He  gives  it ;  and  the  Maker  of  intelli- 
gent, free,  moral  agents  is  possessed  of  the  powers  which 
He  gives  them. 

This  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  old  argument 
that  the  conception  of  a  Personal  Deity  implies  a  corre- 
sponding reality.  Our  proof  is  entirely  different ;  it  is 
the  infallible  testimony  of  Consciousness  that  we  have  an 
adequate  cause,  a  cause  at  least  equal  to  us,  which  brought 
us  into  being.  Nor  is  it  the  old  proof  from  Design, 
which  involves  discursive  reasoning  which  the  "  Intui- 
tion," which  we  have  presented,  does  not. 

I  am  careful  not  to  claim  that  this  is  an  intuitive  cog- 
nition of  God.  It  is  not  such,  but  it  is  the  intuitive  cog- 
nition of  two  facts,  "  I  am  a  living  Person"  and  "I  have 
an  adequate  cause,"  and  in  these  the  being  of  a  Personal 
God  is  included.  All  I  have  done  is  to  state  the  testi- 
mony of  Consciousness  and  interpret  its  meaning,  to  un- 
fold what  it  contains  without  any  attempt  to  infer  or  to 
argue.  If  there  be  any  error  in  what  I  have  stated,  the 
error  is  in  my  presentation  of  the  testimony  of  Conscious- 


I  CONSCIOUSNESS  25 

answer  accepted  bs  all 

ness,  or  in  my  interpretation  of  its  meaning ;  the  infalli- 
bility of  Consciousness  remains  untouched  and  unassail- 
able. 

I  have  presented  this  proof  not  only  to  make  as  clear, 
definite  and  forcible  a  proof  of  intrinsic  worth  of  a  per- 
sonal God,  which  is,  perhaps,  overlooked  and  underesti- 
mated, but  also  because  of  its  important  bearing  upon 
the  first  answer  to  the  question  as  to  our  origin.  Ac- 
cording to  the  presentation  and  interpretation  of  Con- 
sciousness which  I  have  given,  its  testimony  is  that  we 
come  from  a  competent  cause ;  one  that  in  such  sense 
and  in  such  degree  has  intelligence,  emotion,  will  and 
free-agency  as  to  be  able  to  give  us  our  being  endowed 
with  these  attributes. 

This  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our  origin  is 
universally  recognized  and  accepted.  I  do  not  mean  by 
all  scientists  and  philosophers;  some  of  these  may  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  blind  themselves  to  the  plain 
truth,  and  may  work  out  systems  of  materialism,  panthe- 
ism, atheism;  but  by  mankind;  by  the  human  race  always 
and  everywhere ;  and  practically  and  in  the  secret  depths 
of  their  own  souls  even  by  those  who  theoretically  deny 
it.  The  shape  in  which  this  Consciousness  presents  it- 
self to  m.en  in  general  is  possibly  something  like  this, 
**I  have  a  Maker  who  is  fully  equal  to  what  I  am."  Men 
cannot  free  themselves  from  this ;  the  highest  culture 
cannot  obliterate  it;  the  deepest  degradation  cannot  de- 
stroy it,  as  long  as  the  mind  is  not  cultivated  into  mad- 
ness on  the  one  hand,  nor  brought  to  the  level  of  the 
beast  on  the  other.  To  all  who  can  have  the  thought, 
however  feeble  and  indistinct  it  may  be,  "  I  am,  whence 
came  I?"  comes  the  answer,  "From  my  Maker,  who  is 
equal  to  what  I  am."  "  If  I  think  He  thinks,  if  I  feel 
He  does,  if  I  will  He  wills,  if  I  exert  power  He  does,  if 
I  am  free  to  act  He  is."     In  this  testimony  of  Conscious- 


26  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

Tllnlvcrsal  C;bou0bt  of  ©o& 

ness  universally  recognized  and  accepted,  and  from  which 
men  cannot  free  themselves,  we  find  one  of  the  reasons 
for  the  universal  thought  and  worship  of  God  among 
men.  It  has  been  claimed  that  some  men  have  been 
found  who  had  no  thought  of  God.  Such  claim,  how- 
ever, is  extremely  doubtful.  In  such  alleged  discover- 
ies too  much  meaning  has  been  put  into  the  word  "God," 
or  there  has  been  misunderstanding  and  wrong  judg- 
ment, or  the  men  whose  thoughts,  manners  and  customs 
have  been  investigated,  have  been  so  low  in  the  scale  of 
humanity  that  their  thought  of  God  is  too  crude  for  ex- 
pression, or  they  have  no  thought  above  the  supply  of 
their  bodily  necessities,  like  animals  they  simply  eat,  and 
drink,  and  sleep,  and  play  and  strive  with  one  another; 
they  are  like  youngest  children,  whose  minds  are  as  yet 
undeveloped.  Degraded  tribes  of  men  with  childlike 
minds,  equally  with  little  children  themselves,  may  be 
disregarded.  The  affirmation  is  that  as  the  human  mind 
unfolds,  it  rises  to  and  entertains  the  thought  of  God. 
So  true  is  the  universality  of  the  thought  and  worship  of 
God  within  men,  that  man  has  been  defined  as  ''the 
religious  being ^  This  universality  is  doubtless  due  in  a 
large  degree  to  the  prevalent  thought  of  the  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong,  and  their  accompaniment  of 
merit  and  demerit  and  accountability.  And  also  to 
tradition,  which  is  a  far  more  potent,  abiding  and  far- 
reaching  factor  than  might  be  supposed.  Men  are 
to-day  in  their  thoughts  and  actions  in  a  large  measure 
what  they  are  because  of  what  their  most  remote  ances- 
tors were  in  their  thoughts  and  actions.  But  still  the 
universal  thought  of  God  must  be  grounded  and  rooted 
in  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our  Maker. 

The  religious  character  of  mankind,  therefore,  may  be 
adduced  as  in  a  measure  confirming  our  interpretation 
of  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our  origin. 


CONSCIOUSNESS  27 

Proot  not  irnvaliDateJ) 


This  presentation  and  interpretation  cannot  be  invali- 
dated by  materialism,  pantheism  nor  evolution,  as  other 
possible  adequate  causes  of  our  origin. 

The  answer  to  such  a  suggestion  is  in  the  first  place  a 
negative  one.  These  are  in  no  wise  included  in  the 
testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our  origin,  and  cannot 
by  any  possibility  be  drawn  forth  from  it  and,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  none  of  these  are  included,  or  implied  in 
the  interpretation  of  this  testimony,  which  is  universally, 
and  indeed  necessarily,  made  by  mankind.  Men  being 
themselves  spirits  look  for  their  origin  in  a  spirit.  With 
one  accord  they  know  that  their  cause,  their  Maker, 
cannot  be  inferior  to  themselves,  as  conscious,  intelligent, 
voluntary  free-agents.  They  know  this  so  well,  and  with 
such  universality,  that  men  have  always  and  everywhere 
bowed  the  knee  and  worshipped;  and  to-day,  as  in  all 
time  past,  there  are  no  questions  which  are  so  deeply 
and  firmly  rooted  in  the  multitudes  as  those  concerning 
the  Great  God,  our  Maker,  and  how  we  may  be  accepted 
of  Him.  The  definite  testimony  of  Consciousness  is  that 
our  origin  is  in  a  cause  competent  to  produce  living 
Persons,  conscious,  intelligent,  moral,  voluntary  free- 
agents.  In  such  testimony,  materialism,  pantheism, 
evolution  have  no  place. 

But  besides  the  negative,  there  is  also  the  positive 
answer.  These  three  not  only  have  no  place  in  the  testi- 
mony of  Consciousness,  they  are  also  definitely  re- 
pudiated. 

Materialism . 

Materialism  is  rejected.  It  identifies  the  material  and 
the  spiritual ;  that  which  is  called  spiritual  is  only  the 
properties  and  activities  of  matter.  The  testimony  of 
Consciousness  is  the  contradiction  of  this.  It  affirms 
that   there   are   two  things,  or    substances,  the    spiritual 


28  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

/Bbaterlalism,  ipantbeism 


and  the  material,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  properties, 
which  are  contradictory  the  one  of  the  other,  so  truly, 
that  the  spirit  is  not  matter,  it  is  the  immaterial,  and  the 
material  is  not  spirit.  Spirit  does  not  occupy  space ; 
matter  does  occupy  it.  Spirit  thinks,  feels,  wills,  matter 
is  altogether  devoid  of  these  attributes.  It  is  because 
these  attributes  thus  contradict  one  another,  that  Con- 
sciousness affirms,  that  there  are  two  distinct  substances. 
This  is  the  distinct  and  positive  affirmation  of  infallible 
Consciousness  and  cannot  be  disregarded  without  de- 
stroying the  foundation  of  all  our  knowledge.  All  this  is 
included  in  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our 
origin.  It  is  of  myself  as  a  Spirit,  as  that  which  is  not 
material,  that  it  requires  an  adequate  cause :  it  is  of  its 
immaterial  attributes  of  thought,  feeling,  volition,  free- 
agency  that  it  affirms  the  necessity  of  such  a  cause. 
The  materialism  which  identifies  matter  and  spirit  is 
rejected  in  its  fundamental  proposition,  its  essential 
thought. 

Pantheism. 
Pantheism  is  rejected  no  less  distinctly.  As  its  name 
indicates,  this  is  the  identification  of  all  things  with^God, 
He  is  every  thing :  all  things  are  God.  The  material 
world  is  God  manifested  in  that  manner  ;  what  we  call 
the  spiritual  world  is  God  manifested  in  that  way.  God, 
it  is  said,  comes  to  consciousness  in  man:  we  are  a^part 
of  God ;  our  being  is  not  only  from  Him,  it  is  His  being 
and  His  is  ours.  This,  however,  is  contradicted  by  the 
testimony  of  Consciousness.  It  makes  as  sharp  and 
positive  a  distinction  between  ourselves  and  God,'  as  it 
does  between  the  spiritual  and  the  material.  It  affirms 
"  /  am,''' — "  I,  mine  own  individual  self,  am." — "  I  have  a 
real  being  of  mine  own." — "  I  am  a  separate  entity." — 
"  I  am  a  spirit,  as  distinct  from  all  other  spiritual  beings, 


CONSCIOUSNESS  29 

and  Evolution  rejcctcO 


as  I  am  from  that  which  is  material." — **  I  am  not  a  part 
of  God." — ''lam  not  God." — "I  am  not  self-existent, 
nor  self-made." — "  I,  mine  own  individual  self,  with  my 
own  attributes,  am  an  effect,  requiring  an  adequate 
cause."  This  is  the  consciousness  of  mankind,  and 
in  it  is  the  denial  of  the  essential  thought  of  Panthe- 
ism, which  identifies  that  which  Consciousness,  with  its 
infallible  affirmation,  separates ;  and  affirms  that  which 
Consciousness  denies. 

Evolution. 

Evolution  is  denied  likewise,  in  so  far  as  it  is  material- 
istic or  anti-theistic. 

It  may  be  accepted,  if  it  be  the  attempt  to  trace  the 
footsteps  of  the  intelligent  Creator,  to  discover  the 
mode  or  progress  of  His  working  by  which  He  fulfills 
the  counsels  of  His  will,  and  brings  about  the  design  He 
had  in  view,  all  things  being  the  manifestation  and  pro- 
duct of  His  wisdom  and  His  power;  and  if  it  be  granted 
that  the  spiritual  is  not  evolved  out  of  the  material,  but 
that  God  is  the  author  thereof.  Otherwise,  evolution 
must  be  rejected ;  it  cannot  be  accepted  as  a  possible 
mode  of  accounting  for  our  origin.  If  it  be  altogether 
materialistic,  as  its  presentation  often  seems  to  be,  it  has 
against  it  the  full  force  of  the  objection  already  men- 
tioned in  speaking  of  materialism.  It  makes  no  real  dis- 
tinction between  the  spiritual  and  the  material.  Our 
bodies  have  been  evolved  out  of  lower  preceding  forms, 
and  part  of  such  evolution  was  the  evolving  conscious- 
ness, sensibility  and  intelligence,  the  developing  nervous 
system  with  its  brain  being  that  of  which  they  are  the 
production.  Thought  is  strictly  brain-work ;  memory 
simply  the  record  impressed  upon  the  brain,  as  the  mes- 
sage is  impressed  upon  the  strip  of  paper  by  the  tele- 
graph instrument,   or  the  voice  is  impressed  upon  the 


30  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

Evolution  15  mere  Succession 


foil  or  on  the  cylinder  in  the  phonograph.  There  is  no 
separate  indwelling  soul,  but  man's  highest  attributes 
equally  with  those  of  his  animal  nature,  result  from  the 
properties  and  activities  of  the  material  world,  and  perish 
with  the  destruction  of  brain  and  nervous  system. 

Moreover,  materialistic  evolution  affords  no  real  cause 
for  our  being.  It  is  mere  succession,  not  causation.  I 
remember  how  surprised,  and  how  deeply  impressed,  I 
was  when  I  first  read  of  evolution.  There  was  in  it 
nothing  but  the  following  of  one  thing  after  another. 
Nothing  formed  the  first  germs  of  life;  nothing  caused 
the  variations;  nothing  determined  their  character; 
nothing  made  them  better  fitted  to  their  environment. 
They  began  by  chance,  they  followed  one  after  another 
by  chance,  they  were  of  one  kind  or  another  by  chance, 
the  final  outcome  was  by  chance  and  might  have  been 
anything  else  rather  than  what  it  was.  Tophinard,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Anthropological  Society  of  France,  says  in 
his  "  Anthropology,"  532,  In  the  remotest  past  by  "  the 
fortuitous  union  of  certain  elements  of  oxygen,  hydrogen 
and  nitrogen,"  the  first  germ  or  germs  of  life  were 
formed.  Unless  this  be  intended  as  a  simple  statement 
of  agnosticism,  or  nescience  in  regard  to  the  origin  of 
life,  it  is  the  denial  of  causation,  that  is  of  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  all  science.  In  either  case  there  is  no 
cause  given  for  our  origin.  Nothing  caused  the  elements 
of  oxygen,  hydrogen  and  carbon  to  unite  together;  noth- 
ing made  them  unite  in  such  a  way  as  to  produce  the 
germs  of  life ;  nothing  gave  them  the  properties  which 
enabled  them  upon  uniting  to  produce  such  a  result. 
And  if  it  be  thus  with  the  first  step  in  the  progress,  or 
the  first  link  in  the  chain  of  succession,  the  same  prin- 
ciple would  be  true  of  the  succeeding  steps  or  links  ;  they 
also  may  be  causeless,  one,  more  or  all. 

If  a  seed  which  I  plant  in  the  ground  with  all  its  won- 


I  CONSCIOUSNESS  31 

anO  Is  witbout  power 

derful  powers  of  germination,  growth,  flowering  and 
fruiting  can  come  into  being  without  a  cause,  equally 
well  may  the  perfect  plant  covered  with  full  bloom  and 
fruit  come  into  being  without  any  antecedent  growth ; 
without  anything  that  made  it.  If  the  first  germ  of  life 
with  all  its  powers  of  reproduction,  heredity,  variation, 
development  up  to  man,  came  into  being  countless  ages 
ago  by  chance  with  nothing  that  caused  it,  equally  well 
may  the  perfect  man,  possessed  of  all  his  spiritual  powers 
in  full  activity,  come  into  being  in  a  moment  without 
any  antecedents  and  without  a  cause.  And  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  no  cause  is  assigned  for  all  the  endless  varieties 
throughout  the  entire  series.  From  beginning  to  end 
there  is  the  want  of  power;  of  creating,  making,  pro- 
ducing power;  power  which  made  oxygen,  hydrogen, 
carbon;  which  gave  them  their  properties;  which  made 
them  unite  in  such  a  way  as  to  form  the  first  germ  of 
life;  which  endowed  it  with  growth,  reproduction,  varia- 
tion, heredity ;  which  gave  it  its  environments,  which 
adapted  the  one  to  the  other;  which  produced  the  varia- 
tions, which  determined  their  character,  which  changed 
the  conditions  of  life,  which  decided  and  brought  about 
the  final  result.  The  whole  scheme  of  materialistic  Evo- 
lution is  like  a  complex  piece  of  machinery  without 
motive  power,  as  a  steam  engine  with  no  fire,  no  steam, 
no  propelling  force,  it  is  useless;  so  also  is  materialistic 
Evolution  in  regard  to  the  origin  of  man.  It  may  trace 
out  our  ancestry,  but  has  no  answer  to  the  question — 
whence  came  I  with  my  long  ancestral  line? — but  acci- 
dent, chance,  causelessly.  Materialistic  Evolution  either 
does  not  trace  us  back  to  our  origin  and  gives  no  answer 
to  our  question,  or  it  denies  the  positive  testimony  of 
Consciousness  that  we  came  from  an  adequate  cause. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  acknowledged  that  it  does  not 
account  for  our  spiritual  endowments,  and  that  through- 


32  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

Sometbfng  missing 


out  the  entire  series  there  is  something  missing,  some- 
thing needed  to  make  its  explanation  valid  and  to  bind 
all  together  with  a  bond  closer  than  that  of  mere  succes- 
sion. The  search  for  that  which  is  thus  needed  must  be 
in  vain,  till  it  be  found  in  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the 
intelligent  Creator,  who  in  the  beginning  brought  into 
being  the  original  elements  of  the  material  universe, 
endowed  them  with  all  their  properties  and  laws,  and 
who  has  carried  on  their  development,  working  only  by 
secondary  causes,  except  in  extraordinary  cases  for  some 
high  purpose,  and  where  the  direct  act  of  His  power  is 
needed  in  the  introduction  of  that  which  is  new,  as  vege- 
table and  animal  life  with  their  variations,  and  the  god- 
like spirit  of  man.  Spontaneous  generation  of  life  is 
denied  by  the  highest  authorities.  Evolution  must  be- 
come Theistic  to  be  accepted  as  an  explanation  of  our 
origin,  and  even  to  be  itself  possible  as  a  science.  As 
Materialistic  it  denies  the  fundamental  truth  of  all  science 
and  perishes  by  its  own  suicidal  hand.  The  basis  of  all 
science  is,  "every  effect  must  have  a  cause."  Material- 
istic Evolution  does  not  openly  deny  this;  it  ever  pro- 
ceeds, as  it  necessarily  must,  upon  the  assumption  of  its 
truth ;  its  every  step  and  act  is  the  seeking  for  and  un- 
folding the  causes  of  things.  But  it  denies  this  essential 
principle  in  failing  to  trace  all  things  to  a  first  cause,  and 
in  assigning  no  cause  for  life  with  all  its  properties  and 
activities,  and  no  cause  to  innumerable  steps  in  the  series 
of  development  and  variation,  and  none  to  the  human 
spirit  and  to  the  character  of  the  final  issue.  According 
to  it  accident  and  chance  are  at  the  beginning,  and  are 
continually  reappearing  to  the  very  end.  The  chain 
hangs  upon  nothing,  and  many  of  its  intermediate  links 
are  broken.  If  there  be  no  first  cause,  it  is  vain  to  speak 
of  any  others ;  if  the  material  universe  can  spring  from 
nothing,  and  the  first  germs  of  life  with  all  their  potency 


CONSCIOUSNESS  33 

Cannot  be  Beutral 


may  be  without  a  cause,  the  Cosmos  as  it  now  is,  and 
every  Hving  creature  and  man  in  full  maturity  may 
equally  come  from  nothing.  We  need  af^rm  of  them 
only  that  they  are,  and  science,  which  is  the  knowledge 
of  things  in  their  causes,  is  swept  away.  Evolution  so 
far  as  it  is  materialistic  and  antitheistic  is  no  science, 
and  it  cannot  be  neutral  as  Huxley  affirms. 

He  says  that  "  it  is  neither  theistic,  nor  atheistic,  just 
as  the  Copernican  System  of  Astronomy  is  neither." 

This  system  may  be  so  regarded,  if  it  be  taken  to 
mean  simply  the  plan,  or  map  of  sun  and  planets,  as 
arranged  by  Copernicus.  A  diagram  setting  forth  the 
relative  position  and  movements  of  material  bodies  may 
be  correct,  or  incorrect,  but  it  has  nothing  to  do  with 
atheism,  or  theism.  The  question  as  to  these  in  no  wise 
arises.  But  in  this  sense,  there  is  no  correspondence 
between  the  Copernican  system  and  Evolution,  and  the 
former  is  no  illustration  of  the  latter ;  it  simply  makes 
clear  the  thought  in  Huxley's  mind,  namely,  that  Evolu- 
tion is  neutral.  But  let  the  Copernican  system  mean,  as 
it  really  does,  the  explanation  of  the  movements  and  the 
phases  of  these  heavenly  bodies,  as  Evolution  is  an 
explanation  of  living  beings,  and  the  case  is  entirely 
different. 

Copernicus  placed  the  sun  in  the  centre  to  account  for 
these  observed  phenomena.  He  sought  for  their  true 
cause.  His  basic  principle  was  "every  effect  must  have 
an  adequate  cause."  As  the  observed  solar  and  plane- 
tary phenomena  must  have  a  cause,  so  also  these  bodies 
themselves  with  their  inherent  forces  and  their  arrange- 
ment in  the  solar  family  must  have  their  adequate  cause; 
and  he  traced  all  these  up  to  their  first  cause ;  to  that 
pre-existent  being  possessed  of  all  that  is  needful  to  be 
competent  to  bring  into  being  and  form  all  things  what 
they  are  and  as  they  are.  Here  is  the  thought  of  God, 
3 


34  n     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

^betstic  or  Bntltbeisttc 


at  least  in  rudimental  germ,  and  more  and  more  definite 
as  intelligence,  purpose,  design,  the  adaptation  of  means 
to  ends,  and  the  accomplishment  of  ends  by  means  are 
the  more  evidently  observed  in  the  realm  of  Nature.  All 
this  is  true,  and  to  a  greater  degree,  in  regard  to  Evolu- 
tion, as  it  deals  with  higher  forms  of  existence.  It  is 
the  attempted  knowledge  of  things  in  their  causes.  The 
problem  is  thus  to  explain  the  whole  realm  of  organic 
being,  and  that  of  consciousness,  and  intelligence,  and 
free-agency  animal  and  human;  not  only  in  their  sepa- 
rate parts,  or  steps,  but  as  a  great  unit,  an  organic  and 
intelligent  cosmos,  as  it  were.  It  has  and  it  must  have 
something  to  say  as  to  this  cosmos.  Being  what  it  is 
and  has  been.  Evolution  must  explain  it  in  its  cause. 
What  brought  this  cosmos  into  being,  what  endowed  it 
with  its  power  of  development,  what  made  the  system  of 
development  such  as  it  is  ?  If  it  make  it  come  from 
nothing,  from  accident,  or  chance,  or  if  it  introduce 
these  in  a  single  instance,  as  it  traces  progressive  devel- 
opment, it  is  atheistic,  or  anti-theistic.  But  if  it  give  to 
every  progressive  step  its  cause,  and  assigns  the  first 
beginnings,  and  the  entire  system  as  a  unit,  "  the 
organic  and  intelligent  cosmos"  to  an  adequate  cause,  it 
is  theistic.  It  traces  all  up,  not  to  that  of  which  we 
might  think  with  only  a  rudimental  thought  of  God,  but 
to  that  being,  who  is  such  an  one,  that  from  Him  may 
spring  not  only  the  wonderful  organisms,  whose  com- 
plicated structure  implies  intelligence,  but  also  con- 
sciousness, intelligence,  free-agency  themselves,  as  pos- 
sessed by  animals  and  man.  For  Evolution  there  is  no 
middle  ground,  no  possible  neutrality;  it  is  and  must  be 
theistic,  or  atheistic.  If  the  former  it  does  not  conflict 
with  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to  our  origin ;  if 
the  latter  it  does  conflict  with  it,  and  must  be  rejected. 
It  thus  evidently  appears  that  Materialistic  Evolution 


CONSCIOUSNESS  35 

TKIlbs  rejccteJ) 


cannot  be  accepted  as  a  possible  mode  of  accounting  for 
our  origin  for  these  reasons  :  First.  Because  as  far  as  it 
is  materialistic  it  denies  the  essential  difference  between 
mind  and  matter.  Second.  Because  it  afifords  no  real 
cause  for  our  being.  It  endeavors  to  trace  it  up  through 
successive  steps  to  a  primitive  germ  or  germs,  but  not 
to  a  first  cause,  the  very  thing  sought  for.  It  does  not 
say  from  where  the  germs  came,  or,  if  from  united  oxy- 
gen, hydrogen  and  carbon,  whence  they  and  their  union 
came.  It  fails  also  to  account  for  our  spiritual  powers. 
Third.  It  denies  cause  and  effect ;  it  substitutes  succes- 
sion for  causaption.  It  is  without  active,  producing 
power.  The  germs  of  life  appear ;  they  grow,  reproduce, 
vary,  inherit ;  their  environment  appears ;  it  changes ; 
they  adapt  themselves  to  it  and  thus  through  the  ages. 
There  is  no  power  causing  these  effects.  No  power 
which  formed  the  germs,  and  made  them  appear;  which 
made  them  grow,  reproduce,  vary  and  inherit;  which 
formed  their  environment,  made  it  change  and  caused  the 
organisms  to  change  with  it.  If  it  be  asked  what  made 
my  parents  vary  from  their  ancestors  and  what  made  me 
inherit  their  peculiarity,  no  cause  is  given.  If  it  be  re- 
ferred to  inherent  powers,  whence  came  they?  The 
whole  system  springs  from  nothing  and  is  bound 
together  by  nothing.  All  is  left  mysterious,  inconceiv- 
able, miraculous.  A  seed  is  cast  into  the  ground ;  it 
germinates,  grows,  blooms,  we  know  not  how.  Fourth. 
It  is  a  simple  assumption  of  all  life,  and  is  a  self-decep- 
tion. It  assumes  that  man  and  all  the  endless  varieties 
of  animals  and  plants  were  in  the  fulness  of  their  being 
already  within  the  first  germ,  or  germs  of  life,  and  have 
come  forth  from  them  by  a  simple  unfolding  of  that 
which  already  is  as  the  writing  on  a  rolled  up  strip  of 
parchment  comes  forth  as  the  parchment  is  unrolled. 
Men  deceive  themselves  in  supposing  that  a  coming  into 


36  11     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

Bgnosticism  retccteD 


being  in  microscopic  form  of  infinite  minuteness,  with  an 
unfolding  through  millions  of  ages,  is  any  the  less  mirac- 
ulous, and  inconceivable,  than  the  instantaneous  appear- 
ing of  all  forms  of  life  as  they  now  are.  Evolution  is 
essentially  the  unfolding  of  that  which  already  is,  and  is 
no  more  an  explanation  of  it,  than  the  unrolling  of  the 
parchment  is  the  explanation  of  the  writing  thereby  re- 
vealed. 

In  rejecting  Materialistic  Evolution,  we  have  said  that 
Theistic  Evolution  may  be  accepted.  But  we  have  used 
the  term  Evolution  in  a  very  general  and  popular  sense 
and  not  in  its  true  meaning,  and  shall  soon  point  out 
that  the  word  itself  is  inappropriate,  and  should  be  re- 
jected as  a  designation  of  the  progressive  advancement 
of  life. 

But  if  Materialism,  Pantheism  and  Materialistic  Evolu- 
tion be  rejected,  may  not  Agnosticism  be  accepted  as  a 
possible  answer  to  the  question  of  our  origin  ? 

Agnosticism. 

The  affirmation  of  Agnosticism  is  that  God  is  unknown 
and  unknowable.  We  do  not  know  that  He  is,  and  if  He 
be,  we  can  have  no  knowledge  of  Him.  Both  these  pro- 
positions are  untrue.  We  know  assuredly  that  beyond 
the  finite  world  there  is  the  "not-finite"  from  which  it 
comes  as  from  an  efficient  cause.  This  is  the  testimony 
of  Consciousness  universally  recognized.  Thus  knowing 
that  there  is  a  "First  Cause,"  we  know  that  it  must  be 
of  such  a  nature,  or  have  such  a  character,  or  such  at- 
tributes as  to  be  competent  to  bring  into  being  the  ma- 
terial Cosmos,  all  forms  of  organic  life,  and  intelligent 
free  agents  such  as  we  are.  All  this  in  some  true  sense 
and  degree  must  be  in  it.  It  is  true  that  we  can  have  no 
knowledge  of  God  as  infinite,  as  absolute,  but  it  is  also 
true  that  we  may  know  Him,  as  He  has  made  Himself 
known  in  His  works. 


CONSCIOUSNESS  37 

■fflaturc  of  IRnowIeDgc 


Our  knowledge  of  things  is  in  a  large  measure  a 
knowledge  of  that  which  they  do,  or  have  the  power  of 
doing.  Because  of  his  work,  we  say  of  one  man  that  he 
is  a  carpenter ;  we  say  of  another  because  of  his  work, 
that  he  is  an  author ;  of  another  that  he  is  a  poet ;  of 
another,  because  of  his  buildings  of  marvellous  archi- 
tecture, that  he  is  an  architect.  We  may  know  nothing 
more  about  these,  but  we  know  thus  much  concerning 
them.  We  know  their  works,  and  that  these  men  are 
such,  that  they  can  produce  them.  I  may  show  you  a 
small  piece  of  something.  You  do  not  know  what  it  is. 
I  place  it  at  a  great  distance.  In  a  few  minutes,  by 
reason  of  a  blow,  or  a  spark  of  fire,  it  explodes  with 
destructive  force  and  deafening  detonation.  You  do  not 
know  what  it  is  made  of,  nor  how  it  is  manufactured; 
you  can  have  no  conception  of  how,  or  why  it  exerts 
that  terrific  force.  But  you  have  some  knowledge  of  its 
nature  and  character;  you  name  it  ''dynamite,"  and 
handle  and  use  it  accordingly.  Your  knowledge  is  true, 
and  practical,  I  place  before  you  a  small  box,  concern- 
ing which  you  are  altogether  ignorant.  I  touch  it ;  you 
hear  coming  from  it  music,  the  tune  of  which  is  familiar 
to  you;  six  or  seven  tunes  are  heard,  one  after  another. 
You  may  have  no  idea  of  the  mechanism  which  produces 
the  music,  but  you  know  what  it  can  do;  you  call  it  a 
"music-box,"  and  at  your  pleasure  you  touch  it,  and  it 
sends  forth  its  sweet  sounds.  Your  knowledge,  though 
so  limited,  is  true  and  practical.  I  may  place  you  blind- 
folded in  a  room  in  which  there  is  a  man.  He  calls  you 
by  name;  he  speaks  to  you  in  English,  in  French, 
Italian,  Spanish,  German,  Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew,  you 
know  that  he  is  a  linguist.  He  narrates  ancient  and 
modern  history  to  you,  you  say  that  he  is  an  historian, 
with  a  wonderful  memory.  He  repeats  long  passages, 
gathered  from  the  great  authors  of  English,  French  and 


38  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

■ffllustrations 


German  Literature.  He  speaks  with  fluency  of  the  dis- 
coveries made  in  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylon,  Chaldsea.  He 
discourses  of  statesmanship,  science,  philosophy;  of 
morality  and  religion;  and  in  thus  speaking  the  tones 
and  intonations  of  his  voice  are  those  of  earnestness, 
conviction,  deep  emotion.  All  this  is  what  he  can  do, 
and  what  he  does.  In  knowing  this  you  know  him. 
The  above  is  the  definition,  the  description,  the  character 
which  you  give  of  the  man.  The  woman  of  Samaria 
expressed  her  knowledge  of  Christ  by  saying,  "Come, 
see  a  man  that  told  me  all  that  ever  I  did."  So  in  the 
supposed  instance  your  knowledge  of  the  man  is  of  that 
which  you  heard  him  speak.  You  are  totally  ignorant 
of  all  else  about  him.  You  have  no  conception  of  how 
the  human  voice  frames  itself  and  expresses  the  thoughts 
and  emotions  of  the  soul ; — of  how  the  brain  acts  in 
thought,  memory  and  speech ; — of  how  different  forms 
of  language,  history,  literature,  antiquities,  statesman- 
ship, science,  philosophy,  religion  are  grouped,  arranged 
and  fashioned  into  forms  of  speech  by  the  mind; — you 
do  not  know  what  the  invisible,  intangible  soul  is,  nor 
how  it  is  in  vital  union  with  the  body ; — all  is  veiled  in 
impenetrable  mystery,  but  you  know  the  man  because 
you  know  what  he  can  do ;  you  know  his  powers,  the 
attributes  with  which  he  is  clothed ;  your  knowledge  of 
him  is  true,  definite,  practical.  You  avail  yourself  of  it. 
You  treat  the  man  with  confidence,  respect  and  honor, 
and  furnish  your  own  mind  with  the  abundant  informa- 
tion which  he  imparts. 

These  are  true  illustrations  of  our  knowledge  of  God. 
He  is  as  invisible  and  intangible  as  the  human  soul, 
deeper  mystery  envelopes  Him,  than  rests  upon  it.  But 
we  know  him  in  his  works,  just  as  we  know  the  soul 
and  things  material.  The  Cosmos  has  its  origin  in  Him. 
It  consists  of  worlds  and  groups  and  clusters  of  worlds ; 


I  CONSCIOUSNESS  39 

(5oJ>  ftnown  In  Ibts  Timorhs 

they  are  bound  together  in  orderly  arrangement  and 
movements  by  forces  and  laws,  which  they  invariably 
obey;  light  and  heat  radiate  everywhere;  all  forms  of 
organic  life  grow  and  flourish  in  environment  adapted  to 
them,  as  they  are  adapted  to  it ;  harmony  and  beauty 
prevail.  To  the  contemplating  mind,  the  spectacle  is 
soul  inspiring,  and  we  say  with  the  poet  that  God 
"  Planned  and  built  and  still  upholds  the  world  so 
clothed  with  beauty."  This  is  our  knowledge  of  Him,  a 
knowledge  which  is  the  truer  and  the  more  profound, 
as  we  learn  more  of,  and  understand  the  better  the  won- 
ders of  His  Creation.  The  world  of  animal  life  has  its 
origin  in  Him.  Such  is  the  order  and  harmony  prevail- 
ing in  it,  that  we  make  the  classification  of  groups, 
orders,  genera,  species,  varieties,  families,  all  forming  a 
united  whole;  we  see  the  complicated  structure  of  the 
animal  organism,  and  its  union  with  the  indwelling 
animal  soul.  God  is  the  one  who  formed  all  these. 
Above  all,  our  knowledge  of  Him  is  as  the  author  of  our 
being.  We  contemplate  ourselves,  our  consciousness, 
intelligence,  will,  free-agency.  This  is  God's  doing;  this 
is  our  knowledge  of  Him.  He  is  veiled  in  deepest 
mystery,  but  we  know  that  such  is  His  nature,  character, 
attributes  that  He  can  do  all  this.  He  is  the  one  who 
gives  us  our  being.  He  is  the  former  of  our  bodies  and 
the  Father  of  our  souls.  This  knowledge  of  Him  is  as 
true  and  reliable,  as  definite  and  practical,  as  our  knowl- 
edge of  our  fellow-beings.  We  define  them  by  stating 
what  they  are  capable  of  doing.  They  are  beings  who 
think,  and  learn,  and  know,  and  remember,  who  reason, 
and  will  and  clothe  their  thoughts  in  spoken  language. 

Thus  also  we  know  God,  and  give  a  definition  of  Him 
by  stating  what  He  is  capable  of  doing.  He  is  that  being, 
who  made  heaven  and  earth  and  all  that  therein  is.  He 
is  the  one  who  made  us  and   endowed  us  with  all  our 


40  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

Definition  ot  (5o&  TRealism 


wondrous  attributes,  and  wfth  such  knowledge  of  Him 
we  may  well  ask  "He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  He  not 
hear?     He  that  formed  the  eye,  shall  He  not  see?" 

It  is  vain  to  say  that  we  do  not  know  God,  when  we 
know  His  doings ;  when  His  works  are  around  about  us, 
and  we  are  His  workmanship.  By  one  great  effort  of 
thought  take  in  the  whole  material  universe  :  think  what 
it  is  in  its  structure,  properties,  activities  as  revealed  by 
science ;  include  in  the  thought  the  innumerable  multi- 
tudes of  mankind  from  generation  to  generation  through 
the  ages ;  then  think — God  is  capable  of  all  this — such 
His  attributes  that  from  Him  all  this  proceeds.  He  is 
the  author  of  the  Cosmos.  Agnosticism  must  be  re- 
jected. We  know  God  because  He  has  made  Himself 
known  by  His  works.  He  has  showed  what  He  is  by 
His  doings.  Our  knowledge  of  these  is  our  knowledge 
of  Him.  We  do  not  know  the  substance  of  the  invisible 
human  soul ;  we  know  only  its  attributes,  what  it  is  ca- 
pable of  doing.  We  do  not  know  the  substance  of  the 
invisible  God,  but  we  do  know  His  attributes,  we  know 
what  He  is  capable  of  doing.  We  know  Him  as  truly  as 
we  know  ourselves,  and  the  world  in  which  we  live. 

We  have  thus  removed  the  various  alleged  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  accepting  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness, 
as  we  have  presented  and  interpreted  it.  And  we  have 
dwelt  upon  the  discussion  at  some  length,  because  of  its 
all  important  nature. 

Thorough-going  Realism 

Our  fundamental  thought,  or  truth,  is  that  of  Thor- 
ough-going Realism.  There  is  a  real  God;  a  real  uni- 
verse ;  we  are  real  beings  ;  we  have  a  real  knowledge  of 
God,  of  ourselves,  of  one  another,  of  things :  and  the 
origin  of  our  knowledge  is  Consciousness,  Intuition,  our 
cognizing  the  things  which  are,  which  Consciousness  is 


I  CONSCIOUSNESS  41 

infallible.  It  is,  therefore,  needful  at  the  out-set  to  vin- 
dicate this  infallibility  and  to  show  that  God  really  is,  and 
that  we  have  a  real  knowledge  of  Him  and  of  our  origin 
in  Him.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  Consciousness  being 
infallible,  its  interpretation  may  be  correct,  or  incorrect. 

If  incorrect  it  is  to  be  cast  aside,  while  the  infallible 
testimony  remains ;  but  if  correct  it  is  clothed  with  the 
infallibility  of  Consciousness.  The  interpretation,  which 
we  have  given,  may  be  correct  or  incorrect,  but  upon 
the  supposition  that  it  is  correct,  it  must  be  infallible 
truth.  It  is  simply  the  presentation  of  the  infallible  tes- 
timony of  Consciousness  as  it  really  is.  We  have,  there- 
fore, endeavored  to  prove  the  correctness  of  the  inter- 
pretation which  we  have  given.  And  again  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  while  the  testimony  needs  no  confirmation, 
the  interpretation  which  may  be  given  of  it  does.  All 
possible  objections  to  it  must  be  removed  as  far  as  can 
be,  and  confirmations  of  various  kinds,  and  from  various 
sources  be  sought  and  secured.  This  latter  we  will  pre- 
sent, as  we  proceed  ;  the  objections,  in  some  measure  at 
least,  we  have  endeavored  to  remove  at  the  out-set. 

In  interpreting  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to 
our  origin  we  must  be  careful  to  give  its  fullness  of 
meaning,  but  at  the  same  time  not  to  read  into  it  that 
which  is  not  there.  What  has  been  said  in  our  discus- 
sion of  Materialism,  Pantheism,  Materialistic  Evolution 
and  Agnosticism  not  only  removes  these  as  alleged  pos- 
sible answers  to  the  question  of  our  origin,  but  also, 
serves  to  support  the  correctness  of  our  interpretation 
of  Consciousness  and  bring  out  more  clearly  the  fulness 
of  its  testimony.  It  affirms  that  we  have  our  origin  in 
the  being  fully  competent  to  be  our  adequate  cause.  He 
must  be  equal,  not  inferior  to  ourselves.  In  the  light  of 
what  has  been  said,  we  now  the  more  clearly  see  that  the 
meaning    is,  that  we    know   Him  in  His   works,   in  His 


42  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

Scientific  IDlew  of  IRcllglon 

doings.  He  has  those  attributes  because  of  which  He 
is  our  author,  our  maker.  This  is  our  knowledge  of 
Him.  He  is  the  former  of  our  bodies  and  the  Father  of 
our  spirits.  He  is  the  author  of  us,  hving  persons.  He 
is  a  being  equal,  not  inferior  to  the  living  persons,  whom 
He  has  made.  Immeasurably  and  mysteriously  more  it 
may  be,  but  assuredly  this,  a  Living  Personality. 

Section  II     Divine  Revelation 

The  next  answer  to  the  question  of  our  origin  is  from 
Divine  Revelation.  It  may  seem  that  this  should  not  be 
here  introduced.  There  are  many  who  deny  and  reject 
such  revelation.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  there  are 
multitudes  who  accept  it.  Its  presentation  in  no  degree 
invalidates  what  has  already  been  or  may  yet  be  said, 
and,  moreover,  we  present  it  in  a  strictly  scientific  way. 

Man  has  a  religious  nature,  as  truly  as  he  has  an  in- 
tellectual nature.  There  are  phenomena  and  history  of 
the  former,  as  really  as  there  are  those  of  the  latter,  and 
the  former,  as  much  as  the  latter,  are  the  proper  objects 
of  scientific  research.  It  is  assuredly  true  that  there  is 
such  a  people  as  the  Jews,  and  that  their  history  is 
known  and  is  traced  back  to  between  one  and  two 
thousand  years  B.  C.  We  know  their  religious  phenom- 
ena, their  religious  beliefs,  worship,  rites  and  ceremonies, 
manners  and  customs.  Their  sacred  books  have  come 
down  to  us  and  are  read  by  ourselves ;  they  claim  to  be 
a  divine  Revelation.  Two  thousand  years  ago  there  was 
born  of  this  people  Jesus  Christ,  who  lived  and  taught 
in  Palestine,  possessed  of  such  high  intelligence  that  he 
dominated  others,  and  of  thorough  goodness  in  the  high- 
est and  fullest  meaning  of  the  term.  He  claimed  to  be 
the  Son  of  God  and  a  messenger  or  message-bearer  from 
heaven.  He  accepted  the  sacred  Book  of  the  Jews  as 
the  Word  of   God,   and  reaffirmed  its  statements.     We 


II  REVELATION  43 

Zbc  3cw0  Cbrist 


have  the  record  of  His  life  and  teachings,  written  in 
large  measure  by  those  who  were  His  intimate  com- 
panions for  years ;  a  record,  the  genuineness  and  truth 
of  which,  no  criticism,  however  searching,  friendly  or  ad- 
verse, has  been  able  to  invalidate.  These,  without  a 
single  exception,  are  known  facts,  as  much  so  as  any  facts 
of  history,  ancient  or  modern ;  and  as  the  facts  of  astron- 
omy, geology,  physiology  or  biology.  We  have  the 
additional  facts ;  the  influence  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
world,  its  character,  its  power,  its  extent,  its  endurance, 
its  increase.  In  all  these  respects  it  is  incomparable, 
absolutely  unique. 

His  influence  is  the  source  of  the  highest  intellectual 
and  moral  advancement  the  world  has  ever  known.  It 
has  given  untold  comfort,  hope  and  joy,  and  has  aroused 
and  attracted  such  love  that  in  all  ages  millions  would 
die  for  Him,  if  need  be.  It  has  spread  itself  throughout 
all  lands  and  time,  among  all  people,  tribes,  tongues,  races, 
nations  and  among  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men.  It 
is  equally  suited  to  the  noble  and  peasant,  to  high  and 
low,  to  educated  and  ignorant,  to  the  cultured  and  the 
savage,  to  the  intellectual  and  the  simple,  to  men,  women 
and  children.  Its  vital  power  is  as  great  to-day  as  it 
was  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  more  actively  at  work 
and  manifested  than  ever. 

All  these  are  known  facts,  and  are  for  scientific  investi- 
gation and  explanation ;  and  we  cannot  ignore  them 
without  depriving  ourselves  of  one  source  of  scientific 
knowledge  and  holding  ourselves  backward  in  knowing 
the  great  realities  which  are. 

What  is  the  scientific  explanation  of  the  facts  of  the 
Jews  and  their  history?  Why  are  they  the  peculiar 
people  that  they  have  been  in  this  and  in  all  lands,  and 
in  all  times  past;  and  why  have  they  had,  as  a  nation  and 
race,  the  experience  which  has  been  theirs.     They  are  a 


44  n     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

inniquc  jFacts  Biplanatlon 

unique  people.  Through  a  period  of  four  thousand 
years  they  have  maintained  an  undiminished  race  vigor, 
with  their  pecuHar  religious  beliefs,  laws,  manners  and 
customs  and  race  characteristics,  with  a  future  now  open- 
ing before  them  equal  to  that  spreading  itself  before  any 
other  people.  They  have  witnessed  the  fall  and  the  rise 
of  the  civilizations  and  the  nations  of  the  world,  one 
after  another.  They  have  seen  the  civilizations  and  king- 
doms of  Chaldsea,  Assyria,  Babylonia,  Persia,  Egypt, 
Phoenicia  fade  away;  they  have  looked  upon  the  rise  and 
fall  of  Greece  and  Rome.  When  all  Europe  was  barbar- 
ian, and  the  Western  World  unknown,  they  were  a 
powerful,  rich  and  cultured  nation ;  and  they  have 
watched  the  upgrowth  of  all  the  nations  of  the  present 
civilized  world,  themselves  a  never-changing  presence 
amid  all  changes. 

What  is  the  explanation  of  these  unique  facts,  forming, 
as  they  do,  a  unit  of  four  thousand  years'  duration? 
How  is  this  unit  to  be  accounted  for? 

An  explanation  has  been  given.  God  called  the  Jews 
to  be,  and  made  them  a  most  peculiar  people.  He  raised 
them  up,  multiplied,  disciplined,  trained  them  in  Egypt, 
brought  them  into  the  wilderness ;  there  organized  them 
into  a  nation;  gave  them  their  laws,  religious  forms  and 
ceremonies,  institutions ;  established  them  in  Canaan ; 
led  them  into  captivity  in  Babylon  because  they  forsook 
Him ;  restored  them  from  exile  in  preparation  for  the 
coming  of  Christ ;  dispersed  them  among  the  nations  be- 
cause of  their  rejection  of  Him,  and  maintains  them,  as 
a  people,  as  an  abiding  witness  of  the  truth  concerning 
Christ. 

This  explanation  is  one  of  long  standing,  and  most 
wide-spread  acceptation.  It  is  clear,  definite,  intelligible, 
most  reasonable,  connected,  adequate,  incomparably  su- 
perior to  any  other  which  ever  has  been,  or  can  be  sug- 


II  REVELATION  45 

Zbe  onls  BDequatc  ®ne 


gested  ;  and  the  only  one  which  is  competent  to  spread 
itself  out  over  the  four  thousand  years,  and  bind  all  the 
facts  together  in  a  connected  and  united  whole.  It  alone 
gives  significance  to  the  Jewish  history  from  its  begin- 
ning to  the  present  day ;  and  it  alone  dovetails  it  into, 
and  connects  it  with  the  known  facts  concerning  Christ, 
and  gives  a  satisfactory  meaning  to  it,  in  its  connection 
with  Him,  the  Son  of  God,  as  we  must  acknowledge 
Him  to  be. 

Concerning  this  explanation,  three  suppositions  alone 
are  possible.  First,  that  the  Book  containing  it  is  the 
record  of  the  aspirations  and  hopes  of  Jewish  patriotism. 
Second,  that  it  is  the  record  of  careful  observers,  who 
have  studied  the  facts  and  have  discovered,  and  made 
known  their  true  character.  Third,  that  the  Book  is 
what  it  claims  to  be,  the  revelation  of  the  true  character 
of  the  facts  by  Him,  who  is  Himself  their  author. 

Of  the  first  of  these  we  will  speak  presently.  The 
second  cannot  be  true ;  for  the  facts  must  be  consum- 
mated before  they  can  be  observed,  and  their  character 
and  explanation  be  discovered.  The  nebular  hypothesis 
could  not  have  been  made  and  established  before  the 
solar  system  had  been  formed.  The  Geologist  must  have 
the  completed  record  of  the  rocks,  and  of  the  earth  as  it 
now  is,  before  he  can  explain  the  meaning  of  earth's 
strata  and  of  its  diversified  surface.  The  Biologist  and 
Evolutionist  must  have  the  facts  of  organic  life  from  the 
remotest  past  to  the  present,  before  their  sciences  can 
be  made.  The  historian  must  have  the  connected  series 
of  events  through  years  and  periods,  that  he  may  unfold 
their  significance,  and  transform  annals  into  scientific 
history.  So  the  facts  of  Jewish  history  must  be  com- 
pleted, before  they  can  be  examined,  and  their  explana- 
tion thereby  be  discovered;  but  the  Old  Testament, 
which  gives  it,  was  concluded  four  hundred  years  before 


46  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

XLbc  IRccotJ)  explains  tbe  JFacts 


Christ.  Men  now  living  might  possibly  of  themselves 
with  the  Jewish  history  before  them,  continued  down  to 
the  time  of  Christ,  and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and 
to  the  present  day,  be  able  to  discover  the  relation  of 
that  history  to  Christ  from  its  beginning,  and  give  its 
true  explanation,  as  above  presented,  but  this  could  not 
have  been  done  by  those,  who  lived  at  the  date  of  400 
B.  C.  and  earlier. 

At  that  time  there  was  nothing  in  the  mere  facts  of 
Jewish  history  to  show  their  bearing  upon  Christ.  Men 
might  have  seen  the  hand  of  God  in  raising  up,  guiding 
and  dealing  with  the  people  and  for  some  great  purpose, 
but  for  what  they  could  not  tell,  yet  the  explanation  was 
given  in  the  Book,  which  was  completed  at  that  time. 
Step  by  step  with  the  record  of  the  events,  their  true 
explanation  is  given  in  reference  to  events  centuries  in 
the  future. 

It  cannot  be  claimed,  as  has  been  done,  that  this  is 
only  the  speculation  of  ambitious  patriotism,  to  animate 
the  people,  with  the  hope  that  they  would  become  a 
kingdom  greater  than  Assyria,  Babylon,  Egypt,  under  a 
warlike,  conquering  Prince,  a  second  David.  This  is  a 
gratuitous  supposition,  while  the  fact  remains  that  this 
ancient  record,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  affords  the  true  key, 
which  alone  unlocks  the  problem  of  the  four  thousand 
years  of  Jewish  history  as  we  see  it  to-day.  The  fair 
assumption  is  that  He  who  made  the  lock,  is  the  one 
who  made  and  gave  the  key;  that  He  who  is  the  author 
of  the  long  line  of  historic  facts,  is  the  author  of  the 
ancient  record,  which  affords  the  explanation  of  them, 
which  explanation  was  necessary  for  the  practical  utility 
of  the  historic  facts.  As  a  lock  is  of  no  use  without  a 
key,  so  the  long  chain  of  historic  facts  would  have  failed 
for  the  end  for  which  it  was  made,  had  the  authoritative 
explanation  not  been  given.     The  Jewish  history  is  the 


II  REVELATION  47 

anD  claims  to  be  Divine 


root  and  stem  of  Christianity,  and  of  this  there  was  need 
that  an  authoritative  affirmation  be  made. 

Again,  the  Record  claims  to  be  divine,  and  has  been 
widely  accepted  as  such  from  the  first  till  now,  by  men  of 
the  highest  intelligence  and  most  superior  character. 
Again,  the  Record  is  such  that  it  accords  with  the  divine 
origin,  which  it  claims  for  itself.  It  commends  itself  as 
simple,  credible,  trustworthy,  as  a  divine  revelation. 

It  is,  moreover,  inseparably  connected  with  the  New 
Testament,  together  with  which  it  is  the  foundation  and 
power  of  the  world's  modern  advancement.  "The  Word 
of  God  "  has  given  peace,  comfort,  hope,  joy  to  multi- 
tudes of  men  ;  and  has  radically  changed  the  depraved 
character  and  life  of  men,  working  in  them  a  true  and 
abiding  reformation  of  the  most  exalted  nature.  The 
true  Christian  character  is  the  highest  conceivable.  It  is 
no  mere  supposition,  but  an  indubitable  fact,  as  much  so 
as  anything  can  be,  that  this  character  has  been  wrought 
in  cases  without  number,  and  unceasingly  augmenting 
by  "the  Word  of  God." 

Against  all  this  no  valid  objection  can  be  made.  It  is 
gratuitous  to  say  that  there  is  no  divine  revelation ;  that 
God  does  not  act  in  this  way.  If  there  be  a  Personal 
God,  and  if  His  hand  be  in  the  facts  of  Jewish  history,  as 
the  facts  show  that  it  is,  it  is  certain  that  He  could  give 
a  revealed  explanation  of  them ;  and  that  He  has  done 
so  is  evident  from  the  considerations  which  we  have  pre- 
sented. The  facts  which  we  have  mentioned  are  not  only 
in  accord  with  this,  but  some  of  them  cannot  otherwise 
be  explained. 

A  Book  which  has  wrought  all  that  the  Word  of  God 
has  wrought  and  is  working  in  the  world,  cannot  be  a 
mistake  nor  a  fraud ;  and,  moreover,  we  have  the  positive 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  taught  that  the  "  Old 
Testament"    is   the  Word   of   God.     This   is   conclusive 


48  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

^cstlmong  of  Cbrtst 


proof.  At  this  day  it  is  folly  to  deny  that  Christ  is  God. 
He  stands  as  such  before  the  world,  known  to  be  God  by 
many  infallible  proofs,  continually  augmenting.  Of 
superior  intelligence  and  perfect  goodness,  He  could 
neither  have  been  self-deceived,  nor  have  deceived  others. 
The  known  facts  concerning  Christ,  and  His  influence  in 
the  world  throughout  these  two  thousand  years,  as  we 
have  briefly  stated  them,  admit  of  no  scientific  explana- 
tion except  that  He  is  what  He  is  claimed  to  bcy-  the 
Son  of  God  and  message-bearer  from  heaven. 

The  proof  of  Divine  Revelation  is  far  stronger  than  as 
we  have  given  it.  But  we  have  purposely  refrained  from 
going  into  detail,  and  have  intentionally  confined  our- 
selves to  a  few  facts,  which  cannot  be  questioned,  which 
cannot  be  disregarded,  and  of  which  a  scientific  explana- 
tion is  required.  The  case  stands  thus :  the  known  facts 
of  Jewish  history  for  four  thousand  years,  and  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  inseparably  connected  with  these,  the 
known  facts  of  Christ  and  the  New  Testament,  and  of 
the  Christian  Religion  and  Civilization,  scientifically  con- 
sidered, require  the  explanation  that  God's  hand  is  in 
them,  and  that  He  has  given  the  world  a  divine  revelation. 

Answer  given  by  Divine  Revelation 

This  being  so,  as  is  most  widely  acknowledged,  we 
have  from  this  Revelation  an  answer  as  to  our  origin. 
It  is  very  emphatic  and  definite.  We  come  from  the 
creating  hand  of  God.  He  made  our  body  out  of  the 
material  of  the  material  world,  and  breathed  into  it  the 
breath  of  life,  so  that  man  became  a  living  soul.  We  are 
His  offspring,  bearing  His  image  and  likeness.  As  God 
is  a  person,  a  spirit,  so  also  are  we.  We,  like  Him,  are 
intelligent,  moral,  voluntary,  free-agents.  Man  is  a  spir- 
itual being,  in  vital  union  with  a  material  body,  which  is 
its  dwelling,  its  garment,  its  organ.     The  affirmation  is, 


II  REVELATION  49 

answer  of  IRevclation 


that  God  made  the  body  out  of  the  material  of  the 
material  world,  but  caused  the  spirit  to  go  forth  from 
Himself;  that  is  gave  it  its  being  by  the  act  of  His  own 
creating  power.  From  the  first  human  pair  onward,  the 
body  springs  from  ordinary  parentage,  but  in  each  case 
the  spirit  from  a  distinct  act  of  new  Divine  Creation. 
There  is  nothing  in  all  Scripture  contrary  to  this,  and  it 
accords  perfectly  with  the  language  employed;  we  are 
the  offspring  of  God ;  His  children ;  and  God  breathed 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  and  man  became  a 
living  soul.  Prof.  Guyot  has  pointed  out  that  in  speak- 
ing of  man's  creation,  the  peculiar  Hebrew  word  is  used, 
which  means  creation  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term, 
"making  something  out  of  nothing,"  "bringing  in  a  new 
existence,"  and  which  is  used  only  three  times  in  the 
account  of  Creation,  and  in  each  case  with  the  same 
meaning. 

It  is  also  required  by  all  that  we  know  of  spirit;  it  is 
an  indivisible  unit.  The  possibility  of  one  human  person 
giving  rise  to  another  human  person  is  inconceivable. 
It  is  true  that  we  cannot  know  how  a  living  material 
organism  can  reproduce  itself,  but  the  fact  and  the  pro- 
cess we  can  readily  understand.  It  is  by  division  and 
subdivision  of  itself,  and  the  construction  of  the  new 
organism  from  the  material  taken  from  the  food  supply. 
But  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind  like  this  in  the  realm  of 
spirit.  A  spirit  is  a  living  individual  unit,  complete  in 
itself,  and  for  another  such  being  to  come  into  being  is 
a  new  creation :  it  was  ?iot,  it  is,  and  the  only  thing  pos- 
sible which  we  can  do  is  to  refer  the  new  being,  or  entity 
to  the  creating  act  of  God.  I,  a  living  Person,  am  not  a 
part  divided  off  from  the  persons  of  my  parents,  nor  con- 
structed from  some  already  existing  spiritual  substance. 
Both  of  these  are  inconceivable,  so  far  as  we  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  spiritual ;  and  the  former,  no  less  than 
4 


50  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

Consistent  wltb  Dere&itg 


the  latter,  requires  the  intake  of  food,  both  by  parents 
and  offspring,  to  restore  the  parental  loss,  and  to  enable 
growth  in  the  offspring. 

The  view  presented  is  not  inconsistent  with  Heredity; 
that  if  each  person  be  a  new  created  being,  there  would 
be  no  inheritance  of  spiritual  nature,  good  or  bad,  nor 
of  personal  traits  of  character.  Inheritance  must  not  be 
exaggerated;  in  innumerable  cases  the  parental  spiritual 
characteristics  do  not  reappear  in  the  offspring.  Men 
of  eminence  often  spring  from  a  common-place  ancestry, 
and  such  men  seldom  have  children  as  distinguished  as 
themselves.  Moreover,  the  ancestral,  or  family  spiritual 
characteristics  may  be  the  pattern  after  which  the  new 
being  is  created. 

God  has  designed  that  there  be  variety  of  character 
and  endowment  among  men.  He  has  gathered  them  into 
races,  classes,  groups  and  families. 

When  He  creates  a  soul,  it  is  not  at  random,  but  in- 
telligently and  purposely,  the  general  rule  being  to  create 
it  after  the  likeness  of  the  parents,  or  according  to  the 
family  and  race  type,  with  the  result  that  in  children 
traits  of  former  generations  may  appear,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  immediate  parents  themselves  and  even  to  a 
greater  degree. 

Still  further,  the  inherited  characteristics  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  vital  union  of  the  soul  with  the  body, 
and  the  vital  union  of  parent  and  child  before  birth.  The 
influence  of  the  vital  union  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 
The  thoughts,  feelings,  emotions,  hopes,  fears,  suffering 
and  sorrows  and  joys  of  both  the  father  and  the  mother 
have  a  moulding  and  determining  influence  upon  the 
unborn  child,  in  generation,  conception,  and  growth,  and 
men  are  in  a  large  measure  what  they  are,  because  of  the 
character  and  condition  of  their  bodies ;  even  mental, 
emotional  and  voluntary  activities  are  largely  dependent 


II  REVELATION  51 

a  /nboral  ©bjcction 


upon  brain  and  nervous  development.  This  thought  lies 
at  the  basis  of  the  proverb,  "  me7is  sana  in  corpore  sanoj' 
which  expresses  the  common  judgment  of  mankind  in 
this  particular, 

A  Moral  Objection  has  been  urged,  that  God  cannot 
create  depraved  souls. 

The  answer.  Man's  depraved  condition  is  due  to 
God's  judicial  act  because  of  the  first  sin. 

Our  first  parents  were  created  without  depravity. 

It  cannot  be  supposed  that  the  mere  act  itself  of  one 
disobedience  could  deprave  human  nature.  That  in  which 
their  fall  consisted  was  "a  rupture  with  God."  They 
were  on  probation,  and  God  judicially  withdrew  from 
them  and  their  posterity  as  punishment  for  their  diso- 
bedience. 

All  things  must,  have  their  own  "habitat,"  their  own 
"environment."  They  must  live  and  move  in  their  own 
sphere  and  for  that  for  which  they  were  designed  and 
made,  and  for  which  they  are  especially  adapted.  Other- 
wise they  cannot  be  their  own  true  selves. 

Thus  our  first  parents  were  made  for  union  and  com- 
panionship with  God.  His  Spirit  dwelt  within  them, 
their  counsellor,  guide  and  guard,  the  source  of  the  good 
within  them,  His  presence  the  very  atmosphere  in  which 
they  lived  and  the  very  inspiration  and  sustenance  of 
their  life. 

Upon  disobedience,  as  punishment  of  their  sin,  they 
were  cast  ofif  from  the  presence  of  God.  Thus  parted 
from  God,  taken  out  of  and  away  from  their  proper  en- 
vironment, their  nature  was  depraved  as  truly  as  is  that 
of  a  plant  removed  from  the  florist's  care.  All  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  the  plant  remain,  so  all  the  essential  ele- 
ments of  "man"  remained;  but  there  is  depravity  in 
both  cases,  so  that  the  former  true  self  is  hardly  to  be 
recognized. 


52  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

(Tbc  J'irst  /©an  CTbe  3f  Irst  (Rlloman 


This  is  in  accord  with  what  we  know  additionally. 
The  only  real  hope  for  man  is  recovery  of  union  and  fel- 
lowship with  God. 

Thus  the  difficulty  is  removed.  God  does  not  create 
depraved  souls.  The  soul  as  it  comes  from  His  creative 
power  is  without  sin,  it  has  all  the  essential  elements  of 
man,  but  it  falls  just  as  the  first  man  fell;  it  is,  because 
a  member  of  a  fallen  race,  judicially  apart  from  God,  with 
the  consequent  depravity. 

A  further  statement  is  made.  God  made  man  Male 
and  Female,  with  some  difference  in  the  mode  in  the  two 
cases. 

The  first  man  was  formed,  it  is  not  stated  how,  by 
God  out  of  the  material  of  the  material  world,  as  to  the 
body,  and  the  human  soul  made  and  vitally  united  to  it, 
but  the  first  woman  was  taken  out  of  man.  The  exact 
language  employed  to  describe  this  may  be  of  difficult 
interpretation,  but  the  essence  of  its  meaning  is  plainly 
given,  woman  was  taken  out  of  ma?i.  From  the  per- 
plexing language  used  in  the  description  two  additional 
thoughts  evidently  come  forth.  The  woman  came  not 
from  man's  head,  nor  limbs,  but  from  the  body,  the 
trunk;  this  may  be  all  that  is  meant  by  the  word  "rib." 
The  second  thought  is,  that  all  trace  of  her  forthcoming 
was  obliterated,  and  so  effectually  that  not  only  were  no 
evidences  of  it  left,  but  the  possibility  of  a  like  occur- 
rence taken  away;  this  may  be  all  that  is  meant  by  the 
expression,  "and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof." 
The  deep  sleep,  which  is  said  to  have  been  brought  upon 
the  man,  may  be  taken  to  mean,  that  he  was  not  conscious 
of  that  which  took  place. 

It  will  be  observed  that  here  certain  facts  are  made 
known ;  there  was  a  difference  between  the  origin  of  the 
man  and  that  of  the  woman.  God  made  the  first  human 
body   in   some    way   not   stated ;    He   made   woman    by 


II  REVELATION  53 

TRcvcIation  ano  Science 


bringing  her  forth  from  man,  but  in  the  case  of  the  first 
woman  alone.  These  are  facts  to  which  all  explanations 
and  science  must  conform.  No  science  can  be  true 
which  denies  them ;  and  any  suggested  explanation  may 
be  true  or  false  without  affecting  the  facts, 

This  is  the  true  Relation  of  Revelation  and  Science, 
which  is  so  greatly  misunderstood,  and  so  often  dis- 
cussed. The  Bible,  with  a  very  few  limited  exceptions, 
merely  states  facts  and  describes  phenomena  without 
pointing  out  the  "how,"  or  giving  any  explanation; 
while  science  endeavors  to  explain  the  facts  with  which 
it  has  otherwise  nothing  to  do  except  to  observe  and 
collect  them.  The  spheres  of  the  two,  therefore,  are 
entirely  distinct  and  there  can  be  no  conflict  between 
them.  Hence  also  one  system  of  science  agrees  with  the 
Bible  neither  more  nor  less  than  another.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  Bible  speaks  of  the  rising  and  the  setting 
of  the  sun.  This  is  a  mere  statement  of  natural  phe- 
nomena which  we  all  plainly  observe.  These  phenomena 
the  Ptolemaic  system  explains  in  one  way,  and  the  Co- 
pernican  in  another ;  but  as  far  as  the  Bible  is  concerned 
either  of  these  may  be  accepted.  If  we  accept  the  one, 
and  then,  throwing  it  aside,  accept  the  other,  we  do  not 
have  to  change  the  Bible  nor  our  interpretation  of  it 
unless  we  have  read  into  it  something  that  is  not,  and 
never  was,  in  it.  With  the  change  of  the  mode  of  ex- 
planation we  no  more  have  to  change  the  Bible  than  we 
have  to  change  the  phenomena  of  Nature.  In  Nature 
the  sun  rises  and  sets  ;  the  Bible  makes  mention  of  this 
fact;  these  both  remain,  while  men  attempt  in  one  way 
and  another  to  find  out  the  true  explanation  of  how  it  is 
done.  Again  the  Bible  affirms  that  God  made  the  human 
body  out  of  the  material  of  the  material  world,  "the 
dust  of  the  ground."  This  fact  remains  immovable,  and 
men  are    perfectly  free  to  endeavor  to  discover  how  this 


54  11     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

IRevclatton  aires  jFacts 


was  done,  and  to  say  with  equal  propriety  according  as 
it  seems  to  them,  that  it  was  by  an  instantaneous  act  of 
divine  power  or  by  a  divine  process  of  long-continued 
evolution,  or  by  some  other  divine  mode  of  working. 
Again  the  Bible  affirms,  God  made  the  stars,  the  sun,  the 
moon  ;  this  fact  also  remains,  however  men  may  explain 
the  mode.  It  may  have  been  by  instantaneous  creation, 
or  according  to  the  nebular  hypothesis.  The  theories 
and  speculations  of  men  may  rise  and  fall  and  succeed 
one  another  in  long  procession,  but  the  lights  which 
God  has  set  in  the  heavens  shine  on  in  undisturbed  tran- 
quillity, just  as  does  the  Bible  statement  that  God  made 
and  placed  them  there.  So  also  the  statement  that  God 
made  the  "Light"  agrees  equally  w^ell  with  any  scientific 
theory  of  the  origin  and  nature  of  the  light,  which  does 
not  deny  the  fact  itself,  that  God  made  it.  You  may 
take  the  whole  Biblical  account  of  Creation  and  adopt 
any  scientific  scheme,  no  matter  what,  as  long  as  the 
stated  facts  are  not  denied ;  God  made  all  things  by 
successive  works  and  in  the  order  named.  The  same 
principle  applies  to  the  standing  still  of  the  sun  and 
moon  in  the  time  of  Joshua.  If  the  fact  be  admitted,  it 
may  be  explained  as  you  please.  You  may  believe  that 
it  was  by  an  act  of  omnipotent,  supernatural  power,  God 
so  willed  and  it  was  done;  or  you  may  believe  that  the 
earth  is  at  rest,  with  sun  and  moon  moving  over  it,  and 
that  the  sun  was  arrested  in  its  course,  together  with 
the  moon;  or  that  the  sun  moves  through  our  heavens 
because  of  the  rotation  of  the  earth  on  its  axis,  and  that 
the  earth's  rotation  was  stopped  for  the  time ;  or  that 
the  fact  was  brought  about  by  extreme  refraction  of  the 
light  of  sun  and  moon  by  earth's  atmosphere ;  or  some 
other  theory  may  be  adopted.  The  point  is  that  the 
Bible  agrees  equally  well  with  all  explanations,  because  it 
gives  no  explanation,  but  here,  as  in  all  cases,  simply  states 


II  REVELATION  55 

a;be  JFacts  given 


the  fact,  which  in  the  present  case  is  that  by  divine  com- 
mand Joshua  makes  sun  and  moon  stand  still. 

We  have  dwelt  upon  the  relation  of  Revelation  and 
Science  because  of  its  importance  in  itself,  and  that  the 
teaching  of  the  former  as  to  our  origin  may  be  distinctly 
understood.  It,  without  any  explanation,  simply  states 
the  facts — God  made  man  in  His  image  and  likeness, 
male  and  female — He  made  the  first  human  body,  the 
mode  not  stated,  out  of  the  material  of  the  material 
world — by  an  act  of  new  creation  He  brought  into  being 
the  first  human  soul,  and  united  it  vitally  with  the  human 
body,  as  he  does  in  all  succeeding  cases — He  made  the 
first  woman,  and  her  alone,  by  bringing  her  forth  from 
the  body  of  man.  This  is  the  teaching  of  Divine  Rev- 
elation as  to  our  origin,  and  this  is  all  that  it  gives; 
the  only  possibility  of  error  being  that  we  may  have 
misunderstood  the  exact  import  of  the  Hebrew  words 
and  phrases  by  which  the  teaching  is  conveyed. 

Section  III     Scientific  Explanation 

Accepting  these  facts  of  Divine  Revelation  as  to  man's 
origin,  we  may  ask  what  has  Science  to  say  in  explana- 
tion of  the  way  in  which  the  facts  were  wrought. 

It  may  be  stated  that  it  is  acknowledged  by  many 
competent  to  speak,  that  Science  gives  no  answer  as  to 
the  mode  of  man's  origin.  How  he  came  to  be  is  veiled 
in  deepest  mystery.  The  theory  of  Evolution  is  con- 
fessedly incompetent  as  applied  to  man.  It  has  as  yet 
failed  to  trace  and  account  for  the  descent  of  man,  what- 
ever it  may  be  able  to  do  in  the  future.  The  name  of 
"  Evolution,"  if  it  be  an  exposition  of  the  essence  of  that 
which  it  designates,  itself  shows  the  insufficiency  of  the 
Theory,  unless  certain  consequences  be  admitted  which 
no  one  would  allow.  To  "evolve"  is  to  unfold  that 
which  is  contained  within.     Hence  by  evolution  nothing 


56  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

Bvolutlon  misnameD  motbfng  IRcw  from  ft 


can  be  produced,  but  that  which  already  is  within.  The 
oak  is  within  the  acorn,  and  may  be  evolved  from  it,  but 
a  pine  tree,  hyacinth,  rose  cannot  be ;  because  these  are 
not  within  the  acorn.  From  an  eagle's  egg  an  eagle 
may  be  evolved,  for  it  is  within  it;  but  a  vulture,  a  dove, 
a  robin,  a  lizard,  a  lion  cannot  be ;  for  these  are  not 
within  such  egg.  From  various  seeds  a  corresponding 
variety  of  plants  may  be  evolved  for  these  are  within 
them,  but  fishes,  birds  and  beasts  cannot  be ;  for  these 
are  not  within  them.  From  nebulae  diffused  in  space, 
stars,  planets,  worlds  such  as  ours  may  be  evolved  for 
they  are  within  them ;  but  things  possessed  of  organic 
life  can  not  be,  for  these  are  not  in  them.  Spontaneous 
generation  has  been  disproved.  A  man  may  be  evolved 
from  an  embryonic,  or  unborn  child,  for  he  is  within 
such  child.  Such  child  is  a  real  human  being.  It  of 
necessity  follows  from  this,  that  man  cannot  be  evolved 
from  an  ape-like  beast,  unless  he  be  within  such  beast. 
Such  beast  must  be  as  truly  a  human  being  as  is  a  man- 
child  about  to  be  born  into  the  world.  And  the  same 
thing  is  true  in  regard  to  all  the  lower  and  inferior  forms 
of  animal  life,  from  which  the  ape-like  creature  is  said  to 
have  been  evolved.  Each  one  must  have  been  truly  a 
human  being,  or  man  could  never  have  been  evolved  from 
them.  A  Shakespeare,  a  Newton,  a  Daniel  Webster,  or 
an  Agassiz,  if  one  human  soul  could  arise  from  another, 
might  be  evolved  from  the  most  uncouth  and  repulsive 
savage,  for  such  an  one  is  truly  a  human  being,  but  not 
from  an  ape-like  creature,  or  a  lemur.  This  is  the  in- 
evitable consequence  of  evolution;  we  must,  if  we  accept 
it,  acknowledge  each  individual  in  the  long  line  of  our 
animal  ancestry  as  a  true  man,  endowed  with  all  his 
powers. 

Moreover,  as  Evolution  thus  requires  that  the  thing 
evolved    be   already   within    that   which   evolves   it,    the 


Ill  SCIENCE  57 

TLitc  BssumcO  Science's  JBest  answer 


origin  of  man  is  by  this  theory  simply  assumed,  with  no 
explanation  whatever.  The  assumption  is  that  a  germ 
of  life  in  the  remotest  past  appeared,  containing  within 
itself  all  forms  of  life,  including  man ;  and  containing 
these  has  unfolded  them ;  unfolded  that  which  was  from 
the  beginning. 

Yet  it  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  theory  of  Evolu- 
tion is  the  best  that  Science  can  do,  and  the  one  only 
answer  which  it  has  ever  given  in  explanation  of  the 
mode  of  man's  creation.  This  then  is  the  present  state 
of  the  case.  We  accept  the  assured  fact  that  God  created 
man  in  His  own  image,  and  receive  from  science  the  best 
answer,  which  it  is  able  to  give  as  to  the  mode  of  the 
divine  creation,  the  confessedly  incomplete  and  evidently 
impossible  theory  of  Evolution ;  impossible  because  the 
beast  cannot  evolve  the  human,  because  it  does  not  con- 
tain it  within  itself.  There  is  no  conflict  between  this 
and  the  facts  of  divine  Revelation;  science  simply  fails  to 
explain  the  mode  of  man's  creation.  The  answer  which 
it  gives  we  may  accept  provisionally  as  the  best  which 
science  can  give  at  present,  and  as,  perhaps,  being  of 
such  a  character,  that  it  may  become  both  possible  and 
true,  when  modified,  and  made  complete  by  the  addition 
of  that  which  is  wanting. 

The  needed  modification  and  the  supply  of  that  which 
is  wanting  may  be  given  in  the  following  way. 

New  Scientific  Theory 

There  must  be  the  definite  recognition  of  an  intelligent 
Creator  as  an  assured  and  necessary  scientific  truth ; 
that  from  Him  all  life  proceeds  ;  that  the  whole  scheme 
of  life  from  the  first  germs  in  the  remote  past  to  the 
complex  and  varied  forms  of  the  present,  including  man, 
with  its  progress  through  successive  stages  is  His  de- 
sign, and  His  plan  of  working,  that  He  operates  through 


58  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

"Kew  ^beors  assured  Q:rutb9 


secondary  causes,  except  when,  to  introduce  that  which 
is  new.  He  acts  by  His  own  immediate  power. 

There  must  be  the  recognition,  as  an  established  and 
necessary  scientific  truth,  of  the  material  and  immaterial, 
or  spiritual,  as  two  substances,  or  entities,  each  with  its 
own  peculiar  properties ;  that  the  latter  cannot  spring 
forth  from  the  former ;  and  that  organic  animal  life  is 
essentially  the  vital  union  of  the  material  and  immaterial, 
or  spiritual. 

There  must  also  be  the  recognition,  that  the  im- 
material element  is  the  formative,  determining,  directing 
factor;  the  unifying  organizer  of  the  physico-chemical 
forces,  so  that  because  of  it  the  organism  is  what  it  is. 
Thus  man's  body  is  a  human,  not  an  animal  body,  be- 
cause the  human  spirit  is  such  a  factor  within  it,  build- 
ing up  the  organism  and  determining  its  character.  So 
also  the  lion's  body  is  lionine  by  reason  of  the  lion's 
spirit  as  the  formative  factor  within  it,  and  so  all  forms 
of  animal  life  are  due  in  like  manner  to  the  varied  im- 
material elements  within  the  organisms.  Here  it  must 
be  insisted  upon  that  this  is  not  supernatural,  nor 
mystic ;  it  is  not  a  makeshift  to  eke  out  the  material 
potencies ;  it  is  not  the  introduction  of  any  capricious 
disturbance  in  the  common  course  of  nature,  nor  of  any 
thing  that  perturbs  its  direct  activities,  but  is  strictly, 
thoroughly  scientific. 

It  is  an  essential  and  fundamejital  truth  of  science, 
that  there  are  two  substances,  or  entities,  the  material 
and  the  spiritual.  To  deny  this  is  to  introduce  agnosti- 
cism, infidelity,  atheism,  it  is  subversive  of  all  truth. 
The  acknowledgment  of  both  these  substances,  or  en- 
tities is  universal  and  necessary.  It  is  an  utterly  mistaken 
notion,  that  we  know  the  material  better  and  more  as- 
suredly than  we  know  the  spiritual.  In  point  of  fact  our 
knowledge  of  the  latter  is  the  prior  and   the  superior. 


Ill  SCIENCE  59 

Zvoo  Entitles  animal  Xlfc 

Men  are  more  assured  of  the  "  Ego  "  than  they  are  of  the 
"non-ego;"  of  the  inner  self,  which  thinks  and  knows 
than  of  the  outer  not-self  of  which  they  take  cognizance. 
They  know  that  the  "Self"  is  as  real  a  substance  as  is 
that  which  constitutes  the  external  world  of  matter.  We 
know  substance  only  by  its  qualities,  its  properties  and 
activities,  its  manifestations ;  and  the  qualities,  proper- 
ties, activities  of  the  inner  self  are  as  clear,  definite,  as- 
sured as  are  those  of  the  external  world.  And  we  know 
certainly,  that  the  two  sets  of  qualities  cannot  inhere  in 
the  same  substance,  because  they  are  contrary,  or  oppo- 
site to  one  another ;  what  the  one  is  the  other  is  not. 
This  is  the  truth  men  live.  The  denial  of  these  two  sub- 
stances is  a  simple  impossibility,  a  mere  form  of  words, 
utterly  cast  aside  in  ordinary  practical  life. 

Moreover,  we  know  that  as  these  substances  are  the 
opposite,  or  contrary  of  one  another,  the  material  cannot 
evolve,  or  give  rise  to,  or  call  into  being  the  spiritual. 

It  is  also  an  assured  fact  that  animal  life  consists  in 
the  vital  union  of  the  two  substances.  We  know  that 
this  is  so  in  the  case  of  man,  and  we  have  precisely  the 
same  kind  and  strength  of  evidence,  that  this  is  so  in  the 
case  of  animals.  We  afifirm  of  the  man,  that  within  his 
material  body  there  is  an  indwelling  spirit,  because  he 
has  the  properties  of  a  spirit ;  he  perceives,  thinks,  feels 
and  wills;  and  we  make  the  same  affirmation  of  the 
animal,  and  for  the  same  reason.  If  man  has  a  spirit  in 
vital  union  with  his  body,  so  has  the  animal,  for  the 
animal  has  sensation,  perception,  thought,  emotion,  will, 
free-agency.  These  are  spiritual  attributes  and  cannot 
belong  to  that  which  is  material ;  and  hence  any  theory 
of  life  which  denies,  or  ignores  them,  must  be  unscientific 
and  incompetent.  The  origin  and  the  successive  stages 
of  advancement  of  the  inner,  spiritual  entity  must  be 
accounted  for.  equally  with  those  of  the  outer  organisms. 


6o  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sk. 

TLbc  Spiritual  tbe  H)omtnant  ^Factor, 


It  is  also  a  scientific  fact  that  the  vital  union  of  the 
spiritual  with  the  material  in  the  animal  is  of  great 
potency.  The  two  entities  act  and  react  upon  one 
another  in  the  most  marked  manner,  and  unless  it  can 
be  proved  otherwise,  it  must  be  assumed  that  the  spir- 
itual is  the  superior,  as  indeed  we  know  it  to  be,  and 
the  dominant  factor ;  the  formative,  unifying  principle, 
directing  the  physico-chemical  forces  and  determining 
the  character  of  the  organism,  each  animal  spirit  thus 
constructing  its  own  peculiar  organic  body. 

All  the  foregoing,  together  with  the  being  of  an  in- 
telligent Creator,  being  assured  facts,  to  be  scientific  we 
must  necessarily  introduce  them  in  any  theory  which 
would  account  for  animal  and  human  life,  its  origin  and 
progress ;  and  such  introduction,  instead  of  being  a 
makeshift  to  eke  out  material  potencies,  and  the  bringing 
in  of  a  disturbance  in  the  common  course  of  nature,  and 
and  an  interference  with  its  direct  activities,  is  the  recog- 
nition of  essential,  component  parts  in  the  common 
course  of  nature,  and  the  explanation  of  the  natural 
potencies  and  activities  within  it ;  the  true  state  of  the 
case  being,  there  is  the  spiritual  element  in  Nature,  and 
it  is  the  doTninating  factor, 

There  is  another  fact  which  must  be  definitely  recog- 
nized, though  it  will  be  vigorously  combated  by  many. 
It  has  above  been  mentioned  that  the  material  cannot 
evolve,  give  rise  to,  nor  bring  into  being  the  spiritual 
substance,  or  entity.  It  is  also  true  that,  so  far  as  we 
have  any  knowledge  of  the  spiritual,  each  spiritual  sub- 
stance is  a  separate,  indivisible  Entity,  from  its  origin 
complete  in  itself,  without  food  supply  and  without  need 
of  it,  or  capacity  for  it,  and  incapable  of  augmentation, 
or  growth  of  its  substance  or  of  its  attributes,  except  in 
the  way  of  their  development.  Hence  from  its  very 
nature    incapable    of   evolving,  or   giving    rise    to   other 


Ill  SCIENCE  6i 

anD  a  IWew  JBcing  bs  Hct  ot  Creator 


spiritual  entities,  or  of  arising  itself  from  such.  This 
will  be  more  easily  recognized  if  we  consider  it  in  its 
highest  form,  that  of  man.  The  human  spirit  we  call  a 
person,  and  cannot  think  of  it  as  being  divisible,  aug- 
menting in  substance,  or  arising  from,  or  giving  rise  to 
another  person.  Each  spiritual  entity,  as  it  comes  into 
existence,  seems  to  be  a  new  being;  and  hence  it  must 
be  referred  to  a  creating  act  of  the  divine  Creator,  In 
this  respect  it  differs  from  the  mere  material  structure, 
or  body,  which  we  recognize  as  built  up  out  of  already 
existing  material  elements,  into  which  it  may  and  does 
readily  return,  as  it  disintegrates.  For  a  spirit  to  die 
would  be  its  passing  entirely  out  of  existence,  its  total 
annihilation  both  of  substance  and  attributes. 

It  will  be  noted  that  w^e  are  dealing  with  known  facts 
and  in  a  strictly  scientific  way,  and  if  it  seem  objection- 
able and  unsatisfactory,  it  should  at  least  be  accepted  as 
the  presentation  of  our  present  state  of  knowledge.  The 
known  facts  are  that  there  is  a  spiritual  entity  in  vital 
union  with  the  material  organism,  and  its  essential 
nature,  as  far  as  we  know,  is  that  it  is  a  complete  indivisi- 
ble unit  incapable  of  augmentation,  or  growth,  it  cannot 
arise  from  matter,  nor  from  any  pre-existing  spirit,  or 
spiritual  substance.  There  can  be  no  such  substance; 
spirit  exists  only  in  individual  entities ;  it  is  a  new  being 
in  each  case,  and  scientifically  it  must  be  referred  to  the 
creative  act  of  God.  The  mode  of  His  creation  we  know 
not,  no  more  than  we  know  the  mode  of  His  creation  of 
the  first  germs  of  organic  life.  It  is  simply  an  act  of 
divine  power,  mysterious,  inscrutable. 

It  is  a  strong  confirmation  of  that,  which  we  have  pre- 
sented, that  it  supplies  a  deficiency  in  the  Theory  of 
Evolution,  or  rather  explains  that  which  evolution  sig- 
nally fails  to  do. 

It,  and  it  alone,  explains  why  variations  occur;  why 


62  II      OUR   ORIGIN  Sec. 

Biplatns  tbat  wblcb  JEvolution  cannot 


variations  are  what  they  are ;  why  they  are  ever  in  the 
direction  of  a  higher  type,  a  progress  toward  a  far  off 
goal;  why  through  the  geologic  ages  there  is,  at  times, 
the  sudden  appearing  and  development  in  highest  per- 
fection and  in  gigantic  size  of  new  forms,  or  types  fol- 
lowed by  a  decline  and  survival  in  smaller  and  degener- 
ate forms ;  and  why  it  is  that  the  superior  can  seem  to 
spring  from  the  inferior,  or  seem  to  be  "  evolved  "  out  of 
that  which  does  not  contain  them. 

Taking  the  foregoing  facts,  and  combining  them  with 
the  teaching  of  "  evolution,"  that  there  is  an  unbroken 
continuity  of  organic  life  from  the  first  germs,  in  the  re- 
mote past  to  the  varied  forms  of  the  present,  we  present 
the  following  theory  of  life. 

The  Creator  having  brought  the  earth  into  a  state  fit 
for  organic  life,  and  having  determined  the  stages, 
through  which  it  was  to  pass  and  form  a  fit  environment 
for  successive,  advanced  types  of  life  from  age  to  age, 
created  the  first  germs  of  life  and  endowed  them  with 
all  their  peculiar  properties,  including  growth,  reproduc- 
tion, variation  and  heredity.  In  the  case  of  the  animal 
germ,  He  created  and  vitally  united  to  it  the  spiritual 
entity,  as  the  dominant  and  formative  factor.  These 
organic  beings  grew  and  multiplied,  each  new  individual 
organism  being  furnished  with  the  spiritual  entity  by 
divine  creative  act.  As  the  ages  rolled  by,  there  ap- 
peared variations  more  in  accord  with  prevailing  en- 
vironments, and  in  the  direction  of  advanced  types ; 
these  new  forms  succeeded  one  another  by  less  or 
greater  steps  of  progress,  and  were  due  to  the  within 
formative  and  dominant  factor,  the  spiritual  entities.  A 
new  creation  in  each  individual,  these  spiritual  entities  as 
they  followed  one  another,  were  created  in  improved,  or 
advanced  forms,  and  they  moulded  accordingly  the  or- 
ganisms, with  which  they  were  in  vital  union. 


Ill  SCIENCE  63 

IDariattons  Due  to  Bew  Spiritual  jEntitice 


Varied  organisms,  therefore,  occurred  not  by  accident, 
nor  by  spontaneity,  but  because  of  a  change  in  the  in- 
dwelling spiritual  entity;  and  these  survived  because 
they  were  the  fittest,  or  more  in  harmony  with  the  then 
environment,  made  for  them  and  they  for  it.  The  new 
types,  thus  brought  in,  succeeded  one  another  by  grad- 
ual steps,  forming,  as  it  were,  links  in  an  unbroken 
chain ;  but  at  times,  as  the  geological  record  seems  to 
intimate  was  the  case  more  or  less  frequently,  the  change 
was  more  decided,  the  old  type  gave  birth  to  a  new  type 
very  far  in  advance  of  itself,  so  that  between  parent  and 
offspring  there  was  a  wide  gulf  of  separation,  because 
the  new  spiritual  entity  within  the  new  organism  was  of 
this  advanced  character,  and  moulded  the  organism  ac- 
cordingly. The  chain,  not  of  organic  descent,  but  of 
gradual  advancement  is  broken;  there  are  one,  or  more, 
perhaps  many,  missing  links,  these  can  never  be  found,  be- 
cause they  never  were.  In  such  a  case  we  evidently  see, 
what  indeed  is  true  of  all  cases  of  real  advancement,  that 
the  higher  is  not  evolved  from  the  lower;  it  is  born  of 
it,  but  there  is  the  introduction  of  that  which  is  new,  a 
spiritual  entity  of  a  higher  order  has  been  made  and 
brought  in,  and  it  has  moulded  its  own  peculiar,  and 
advanced  organic  body. 

In  the  process  of  the  ages  the  mammals  appeared,  and 
these  one  after  another  in  advanced  forms  by  continuity 
of  organic  life  and  by  the  introduction  of  new  and  ad- 
vanced spiritual  entities,  each  moulding  its  own  body. 
Stage  by  stage  the  unbroken  progress  went  on  till  the 
anthropoids  appeared.  From  a  suitable  one  from  among 
these  Man  was  born,  because  a  new  and  far  advanced 
spiritual  being,  one  of  a  new  order,  bearing  the  image 
and  likeness  of  God  was  created  and  vitally  united  to  the 
embryonic  organism  which  grew  and  developed  under  its 
dominant  and  formative  force,  by  which  it  was  made  not 


64  II     OUR  ORIGIN  Sec. 

c:be  perfect  /nban  JBorn 


an  animal,  but  a  truly  human  body,  in  ideal  perfection, 
than  which  nothing  more  beautiful  has  ever  since  ap- 
peared. The  indwelling  Spirit  fashioned  its  own  body, 
and  Man  was  born  in  the  complete  fulness  of  human 
nature,  with  as  wide  a  gulf  of  separation  between  him- 
self and  the  animal,  as  there  is  at  present.  There  was 
an  unbroken  continuity  of  organic  life,  but  a  broken 
chain  in  gradual  progressive  advancement  of  life — many 
links  missing — a  great  and  sudden  hiatus.  These  links 
never  were,  and  hence  can  never  be  found.  The  animal 
from  which  the  first  man  was  born  was  man-like,  but 
still  thoroughly  animal,  in  no  sense  human ;  her  off- 
spring thoroughly,  perfectly  human,  in  no  sense  animal. 
There  was  no  creature  intermediate  between  animals  and 
man,  neither  animal,  nor  man,  and  gradually  merging 
into  man;  man  was  not  evolved  from  the  animal.  He 
was  a  new  created  Spirit,  constructing  his  own  body 
within  the  animal  parent  and  born  of  her.  She  was 
both  before  and  after  the  birth  but  the  nursing  mother; 
and  no  more  the  origin  of  Man  born  of  her,  than  was 
the  wolf,  which  old  historians  said  nurtured  Romulus 
and  Remus,  the  parent  of  these. 

The  barbarous  races  of  geologic,  prehistoric  and  his- 
toric times  down  to  the  present  are  degenerates,  remain- 
ing stationary  in  their  degradation,  or  even  retrograding 
still  further,  except  only  as  influences  of  a  higher  civiliz- 
ation, and  revealed  Religion,  are  brought  to  bear  upon 
them  ab  extra. 

Such  is  assuredly  the  case  with  the  barbarous  tribes  of 
the  whole  historic  world.  Peoples  have  degenerated, 
civilizations  have  declined  and  passed  away,  but  no  un- 
civilized peoples  have  ever  advanced  without  contact  with 
the  higher. 

The  ofily  hope  for  mankind  was  in  an  unbroken  line 
of  civilization  and  revealed  religion  from  the  first  parents 


Ill  SCIENCE  65 

Scientific  Divine  Immanence 

of  the  race ;  as  a  river  of  shining  light  flowing  from  its 
primeval  source  through  the  world  and  now  outspread- 
ing itself  everywhere,  for  the  enlightenment  and  eleva- 
tion of  all. 

This  Theory  is  strictly  scientific.  If  it  be  objected, 
that  the  direct  act  of  the  Creator  is  too  much  introduced, 
it  must  be  noted  that  this  is  the  only  way  possible  to 
account  for  the  origin  of  a  new  entity.  To  the  First 
Cause  must  be  referred  the  nebulous  vapor  from  which 
suns  and  planets  have  been  evolved.  To  the  same  Cause 
must  be  referred  the  first  germs  of  organic  life  and  with 
equal  necessity  to  the  same  cause  must  be  referred  the 
spiritual  entity  vitally  united  with  the  animal  organism. 
And  if,  of  the  spiritual  entities,  each  individual  be  a  new 
entity,  they  must  all  be  referred  to  the  same  Cause,  act- 
ing throughout  the  ages ;  and  even  if,  in  the  future  it  be 
found,  which  we  do  not  think  possible,  nor  conceivable, 
that  the  individual  spiritual  entities  may  arise  from  some 
kind  of  spiritual  parentage,  it  would  still  be  true,  that 
each  new  and  advanced  order  of  spiritual  being  must 
originate  by  the  act  of  the  Creator ;  the  inferior  cannot 
evolve  the  greater. 

It  must,  moreover,  be  noted  that  there  is  arising  a 
marked  tendency  within  modern  Science  towards  the 
doctrine  of  the  Divine  Immanence — the  thought  of  an 
ever  present,  actively-at-work  Creator.  This  makes 
deepest  impression  upon  my  mind.  My  delight  is  to 
contemplate  the  growth  and  blooming  of  the  beautiful 
flower,  seeing  it  unfold  its  exquisitely  wrought,  delicate 
form  beneath  the  fashioning  touch  of  the  invisible,  but 
present,  wonder-working  God. 

And  even  by  the  atheist,  and  by  those  who  erroneously 

maintain   that    science    is    neutral,    neither    theistic,    nor 

atheistic,  this   Theory  may  be   accepted.     They  assume 

the  origin  of  the  first  germs  of  organic  life;  equally  well 

5 


66  II     OUR  ORIGIN  Skc. 

XLvoo  Statements  ^be  tTrue  jfocm 


may  they  assume  the  origin  of  the  spiritual  entities,  and 
with  these  vitally  united  with  the  animal  organisms,  as 
the  formative  and  dominant  factor  within  them,  they 
have  a  form  of  the  theory  suited  to  ^keir  way  of  think- 
ing.— "The  unbroken  continuity  of  life  from  the  first 
germs  to  all  forms  of  life  at  present,  including  man,  not 
by  evolution,  but  by  successive  stages  of  advancement, 
each  successive  stage  due,  in  fact  and  in  character,  to  the 
advancing  improvement  of  the  spiritual  entities  within 
the  animal  organisms;  the  improved  spiritual  entities 
being  each  a  new  introduction  in  the  same  sense,  and 
equally  with  the  introduction  of  the  first  organic  germs. 
The  theory,  thus  modified,  recognizes,  as  mtist  neces- 
sarily be  done,  the  spiritual  entity  and  its  vital  union 
with  the  organism  ;  and  by  the  introduction,  even  though 
unaccounted  for,  of  the  new  and  improved  spiritual  en- 
tities, is  free  from  the  absurd  and  impossible  assumption, 
that  the  higher  can  be  evolved  from  the  lower.  The 
theory,  however,  in  this  form  is  imperfect  and  unsatis- 
factory, because  it  does  not  trace  life  far  enough  back, 
and  does  not  account  for  the  introduction  of  the  new 
elements,  but  simply  assumes  them.  It  is,  moreover, 
unscientific,  because  it  denies,  or  ignores  the  funda- 
mental scientific  truth  and  principle — all  things  must  be 
due  to  a  sufificient  first  cause,  which  is  the  intelligent 
Creator,  whose  design  the  whole  scheme  of  life  is,  and 
by  whom  it  is  all  bound  together  as  a  unit,  with  begin- 
ning, progressive  advancement  and  final  completion. 

The  Theory  in  its  true  scientific  foryn  is  theistic,  and 
may  thus  be  stated.  "  The  unbroken  continuity  of  or- 
ganic life  from  the  first  organic  germs  to  all  forms  of  life 
at  present,  including  man,  not  by  evolution,  nor  de- 
velopment; but  by  successive  stages  of  advancement, 
due  to  the  formative  and  dominant  force  of  the  advanc- 
ing spiritual  entities  in  vital  union  with  the  organisms : 


Ill  SCIENCE  67 

flew  Xlbcot'e  not  Evolution 


the  first  organic  germs,  and  every  individual  spiritual 
entity,  with  every  new  grade  of  spiritual  advancement, 
being  the  introduction  of  something  new  ad  extra  ;  the 
whole  scheme  of  life,  as  a  unit  and  to  the  most  minute 
detail,  being  the  design  and  plan  of  the  divine  Creator, 
wrought  out  by  the  Creator  through  secondary  causes, 
including  the  free  agency  of  man  and  animals,  and  by  the 
acts  of  His  own  creating  power,  introducing  all  that  is 
new. 

It  will  be  noted,  that  this  Theory  is  not  evolution  in 
the  proper  sense  of  the  term,  but  a  decided  improvement, 
as  evolution,  except  within  a  limited  sphere,  is  an  impos- 
sibility, unless  the  term  be  taken  in  a  sense  far  from  ex- 
act. "To  evolve"  is  defined  to  unroll,  unfold,  disclose, 
to  open  itself,  to  disclose  itself.  Worcester's  Dictionary. 
Hence  nothing  can  be  evolved,  but  that  which  is  within 
that  which  evolves ;  is  within  that  which  unfolds,  opens 
itself,  discloses  itself ;  all  real  advancement  is  thus  pre- 
cluded. If  man  is  evolved  from  the  original  germs  of 
life  in  the  remotest  past,  the  fulness  of  manhood  must 
have  been  in  the  primitive  germs,  and  in  each  link  in  the 
long  unbroken  chain  of  life,  as  truly  and  as  fully  as  in  the 
new  born  human  infaint.  Each  creature  in  the  long 
series  of  generations  must  have  been  a  jnafi  in  the  pro- 
cess of  unfolding  and  disclosing  himself. 

Within  limited  spheres  there  may  be  true  evolution. 
From  the  embryonic  germ  of  human  parentage,  endowed 
with  its  indwelling  spirit,  the  infant  may  evolve;  from 
the  germinal  vesicle  within  the  hen's  q%^  the  chicken 
may  evolve ;  from  that  within  an  eagle's  ^^^  the  eagle ; 
from  the  first  human  pair  the  various  races  of  mankind 
may,  perhaps,  evolve, — from  the  wild  rock  pigeon,  per- 
haps, the  varied  breeds  of  domestic  pigeons  may  evolve, 
provided  all  these  forms  are  already  within  the  original, 
and  require  the  introduction  of  nothing  new. 


68  II     OUR  ORIGIN  sec. 

SoscallcD  JEvolutfon 


We  may,  however,  take  the  term  "  Evolution  "  in  a  lax 
and  extended  meaning,  as  is  often  done.  In  this  sense 
the  evolution  of  different  things  is  spoken  of,  for  ex- 
ample, the  evolution  of  the  flour  mill,  from  the  rude 
breaking  of  the  grain  by  pounding  to  the  complicated 
steam-driven  mechanism  of  the  present  day ;  or  the  evo- 
lution of  steam  railway  traveling  and  transportation. 
We  may  take  the  so-called  evolution  of  the  chronometer, 
and  find  in  it  a  good  illustration  of  the  theory  of  life, 
which  we  have  presented.  The  marvellous,  delicate,  ac- 
curately constructed,  and  adjusted  chronometer  has  been, 
as  is  said,  "evolved"  from  the  rude  modes  of  time  keep- 
ing in  remote  ages  past.  The  sun-dial,  hour-glass, 
clepsydra,  or  water-clock,  the  first  rude  attempts  at  time 
keeping  mechanism  have  "evolved"  the  modern  chro- 
nometer, but  note  the  vianner  of  such  so-called  evolu- 
tion. The  first  rude  time-keepers  were  made  ab  extra 
by  an  intelligent  maker ;  he  saw  deficiencies  and  in- 
troduced some  slight  improvement;  he  noted  the  imper- 
fection of  this  and  again  invented  and  introduced  im- 
provement; and  thus  on  and  on,  ever  noting  what  was 
needed,  and  continually  introducing  something  new,  thus 
advancing  the  mechanism  step  by  step  till  the  modern 
chronometer  was  perfected.  In  such  evolution  as  this 
the  lower  forms  do  not  contain  the  higher,  and  do  not 
evolve  them  ;  they  are  entirely  without  such  power.  The 
improvements  all  came  ab  extra,  and  the  "evolution"  is 
simply  successive  stages  of  progressive  advancement  due 
to  an  outside  intelligent  maker.  This  is  a  good  illustra- 
tion, though  not  a  complete  presentation,  of  the  kind  of 
"evolution,"  there  is  in  organic  life.  In  the  latter  there 
is  something  more,  namely,  the  unbroken  continuity  of 
organic  life,  and  the  automatic  activities  within  it ;  but 
the  origin  of  the  life  and  all  the  advancement  come  from 
an  outside  intelligent  Creator. 


Ill  SCIENCE  69 

Zbc  "CQlorO  "KeiccteJ)  ^ale  anD  jfemale 

It  would  be  better  to  discard  the  term  "  Evolution," 
as  erroneous  and  inapplicable  and  describe  the  new, 
modified  Theory,  as  that  of  Unbroken  Continuity  of 
Life,  through  Stages  of  Advancement  Ab-Extra. 

We  might  here  leave  the  Theory  which  we  have  given, 
were  it  not  for  two  additional  facts  mentioned  by  divine 
Revelation,  that  God  made  man  male  and  female,  and 
that,  as  to  the  origin  of  woman,  she  was  taken  out  of 
man. 

Male  and  Female. 

In  regard  to  the  first  of  these;  it  is  a  well  known  fact 
that  there  are  male  and  female  characteristics  of  the  soul ; 
this  is  as  assured  as  that  there  are  these  characteristics 
of  the  body.  This  distinction,  however,  is  not  thorough- 
going, as  though  the  masculine  and  the  feminine  souls 
were  each  entirely  without  the  characteristics  of  the 
other.  In  reality  both  have  all  the  elements  of  human 
nature,  the  distinction  of  male  and  female  being  only  one 
of  different  development  and  activity  of  the  various 
spiritual  attributes  in  the  two  cases.  The  masculine  soul 
has  certain  attributes  prominently  brought  forward  as 
characteristic  of  it,  while  the  feminine  soul  is  character- 
ized by  the  prominence  within  it  of  those,  which  are 
comparatively  subordinate  within  the  masculine.  Hence 
it  is,  that  we  often  find  men  who  are  decidedly  feminine 
in  their  spiritual  traits,  and  woman  who  are  very  mascu- 
line. 

And  as  the  soul  in  vital  union  with  the  embryonic  or- 
ganism is  the  formative  and  dominant  factor,  it  fashions 
it  male  or  female,  according  as  it  is  itself  the  one,  or  the 
other.  We  would  present  this  as  the  true  answer  to  the 
disputed  question  of  the  determination  of  sex.  The 
father  generates  the  embryonic  germ,  having  in  himself 
all  the  spiritual  and  physical  attributes  of  human  nature, 
the  generated  germ  is  both  male  and  female.     This  new 


70  II     OUR  ORIGIN  Sec. 

Origin  ot  Tnuoman 


paternal  germ,  being  conceived  by  the  mother,  as  it 
grows  and  develops  within  her,  becomes  male  or  female, 
according  as  the  new  spiritual  entity,  vitally  united  to  it 
as  its  formative  and  dominant  factor,  is  itself  the  one,  or 
the  other,  made  such  by  the  creative  act  which  gave  it 
its  being,  and  develops  within  the  germ,  which  is  both 
male  and  female,  its  own  appropriate  set  of  organs,  as  it 
fashions  its  own  body. 

The  first  human  being  was  created  with  all  the  at- 
tributes, spiritual  and  physical,  of  human  nature,  which 
fully  developed  within  him ;  the  second  human  being 
was  created  with  all  these  attributes  likewise,  but  with 
the  constitutional  development  and  activity  of  those, 
which  are  the  characteristics  of  woman.  With  her  pres- 
ence and  companionship,  the  man,  in  maturing,  became 
the  more  manly,  and  from  thenceforward  there  was  the 
marked  division  of  mankind,  as  male  and  female,  both  as 
to  soul  and  body.  Humanity  in  its  fulness  and  perfec- 
tion is  in  neither  the  one,  nor  the  other,  but  in  the 
blending  of  man  and  woman  together  in  the  union  and 
fellowship  of  the  two,  "  a  two  in  one  and  one  in  two," 
without  which  the  highest  human  love,  companionship 
and  advancement  would  have  been  impossible  and  un- 
known. 

The  Origin  of  Woman. 

The  second  fact  is,  as  to  the  origin  of  woman,  that 
"  she  was  taken  out  of  man."  This  being  the  known 
fact,  it  may  be  asked,  is  there  any  scientific  suggestion, 
which  may  be  made  as  to  the  mode  in  which  this  was 
done?  The  answer  is  that  she  was  born  of  the  first 
human  being,  who  at  the  outset  had  in  full  development 
all  the  organs  of  complete  human  nature.  Being  such 
an  one,  woman  could  readily  have  been  produced  within 
and  born  of  him.  After  her  birth  the  one  set  of  organs 
became   atrophied    in    the    first    human    being  and  from 


ni  SCIENCE  71 

JBocn  ot  /Iban 


henceforth  the  two  have  been  developed  in  separate 
individuals.  This  would  seem  to  be  a  very  natural  way 
of  understanding  the  expression  "  and  took  one  of  his 
ribs  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead  thereof,  and  of  the 
rib  made  he  woman,"  "  she  was  taken  out  of  man."  The 
rib  is  named  to  show  that  woman  came  not  from  head, 
or  limbs,  but  from  the  body  and  out  of  the  substance  of 
man,  "bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh;"  and  the 
place  was  closed  up,  that  is,  that  which  formed  the 
woman  was  removed,  the  organs  were  atrophied.  It  is 
an  established  fact,  that  at  the  outset  the  two  sets  of 
organs  are  within  the  embryo,  and  the  individual  be- 
comes male,  or  female  according  as  the  one  or  the  other 
is  developed,  and  that  in  mature  life  both  are  present  in 
every  individual,  the  one  set  developed  and  the  other 
rudimental.  The  fact,  therefore,  is  that  every  human 
being  is,  in  some  measure  throughout  life,  such  as  we 
have  suggested  the  first  man  was. 

Moreover,  there  is  an  important  reason  why  this 
should  have  been  the  origin  of  woman.  The  first  man, 
having  been  made  in  the  manner  above  mentioned  with 
the  gulf  of  separation  between  him  and  animals,  it  was 
needful  that  there  should  be  no  admixture  of  man  with 
the  animal  in  the  reproduction  of  mankind.  The  new 
human  race  was  altogether  self-propagated;  woman  was 
born  of  the  first  man  and  she  became  "  the  mother  of  all 
living." 

If  this  be  the  true  state  of  the  case,  it  is  a  remarkable 
and  interesting  fact,  that  there  is  a  striking  correspond- 
ence between  the  first  head  and  representative  of  our 
race,  the  first  Adam,  and  the  second  head  and  repre- 
sentative, the  second  Adam.  The  first  gave  birth  to 
a  woman ;  the  second  was  born  of  a  virgin  mother. 

To  those  who  feel  constrained  to  take  the  language 
literally  it    might   be  suggested,   that  they  think  of   the 


72  II     OUR  ORIGIN  Skc. 

^figurative  Xanguage,  a  IDeil 


transformation  of  the  rib  as  a  miracle  wrought  within 
the  man's  body  and  the  woman  brought  forth  from  him 
in  an  infantile  form.  This  relieves  some  difficulty  of 
thought  and  leaves  the  record  absolutely  untouched  even 
as  literally  understood — woman  was  made  out  of  man's 
rib,  and  was  taken  out  of  man. 

It  is,  however,  absurd  to  take  the  expression  literally, 
and  for  a  word  or  two,  render  the  whole  passage  objec- 
tionable, which  otherwise  is  most  clear  and  reasonable. 
All  language  is  figurative,  and  at  times  extremely  so,  in 
the  Bible  and  elsewhere.  Thus  in  the  Psalms  and  other 
places — "The  floods  clap  their  hands" — "The  valleys  are 
covered  with  corn,  they  shout  for  joy,  they  also  sing," 
It  is  said  of  God  "Thou  openest  thy  hand" — Thou  "hast 
laid  thine  hand  upon  me."  The  earth  is  called  the  foot- 
stool of  God's  feet.  His  footsteps  are  spoken  of.  Christ 
was  misunderstood  when  He  said,  "  Destroy  this  temple 
and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it  up."  Nicodemus  did  not 
understand  Him  when  He  said,  "Ye  must  be  born 
again."  Christ  said,  "I  am  the  door" — "This  bread  is 
my  body." — "  Except  ye  eat  my  flesh  and  drink  my 
blood."  Those  who  heard  Him  were  offended.  The 
woman  of  Samaria  misunderstood  Christ  when  He  said 
"  I  would  have  given  thee  living  water."  Christians  are 
called,  living  stones — Christ  the  chief  corner-stone.  God 
is  said  to  be  Light.  The  Books  of  Ezekiel  and  Revela- 
tion are  full  of  extremest  imagery. 

The  only  question  is,  what  is  the  real  meaning  of  the 
language  employed?  In  the  account  of  the  origin  of 
woman,  as  is  the  case  in  many  of  Christ's  sayings,  a  veil 
of  mystery  seems  purposely  thrown  over  the  thing  spoken 
of,  by  the  figurative  language  which  is  used;  but  the 
record  is  true,  and  by  reading  the  entire  account  we  may 
interpret  its  meaning.  The  interpretation,  which  we  have 
given,  is  reasonable,  and  unfolds  the  facts,  which  we  have 


Ill  SCIENCE  73 

pealm  139  XLbe  JSfble  XLxxie 

mentioned,  and  which  readily  admit  of  a  satisfactory 
scientific  explanation. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  we  have  in  Ps.  139  a  de- 
scription of  how  we  all  are  formed,  which  corresponds 
with  the  account  of  the  origin  of  woman,  and  which, 
having  the  same  general  topic,  employs,  like  it,  language 
which  must  be  taken  figuratively.  "  Thou  hast  possessed 
my  reins  ;  thou  hast  covered  me  in  my  mother's  womb 
*  *  *  I  am  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made ;  *  *  *  My 
substance  was  not  hid  from  thee,  when  I  was  made  in 
secret,  and  curiously  wrought  in  the  lowest  part  of  the 
earth.  Thine  eyes  did  see  my  substance,  yet  being  un- 
perfect;  and  in  thy  book  all  my  members  were  written, 
which  in  continuance  were  fashioned,  when  as  yet  there 
was  none  of  them."  The  beauty  and  truth  of  this  won- 
derful passage  would  be  ruined,  if  it  were  treated,  and 
abused  in  the  manner,  in  which  the  account  of  the  origin 
of  woman  has  been. 

But  when  we  have  said  all  that  can  be  said  from  a 
scientific  standpoint  as  to  the  origin  both  of  man  and 
woman,  it  must  be  distinctly  borne  in  mind,  that  the 
facts  stated  in  the  Bible  remain  the  same,  whether  the 
scientific  theories  of  explaining  kow  they  were  produced 
be  right,  or  wrong;  just  as  do  the  facts  of  nature,  what- 
ever scientific  explanations  is  given  of  them. 

Our  Present  Knowledge. 
In  the  answer  to  the  question  as  to  our  origin,  which 
we  have  given,  we  have  presented  what  may  be  regarded 
as  the  statement  of  our  present  knowledge  concerning  it. 
From  such  knowledge  we  have  endeavored  to  eliminate 
all  misconceptions,  errors  and  confusion,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  gather  together  all  that  seems  to  be  assured 
facts,  and  arrange  these  in  such  order  and  harmony  as  to 
form,  with  as  little  mere  speculation  as  possible,  a  theory 


74  n     OUR  ORIGIN 

Sll  tbc  Sfncte  "Kcxt  <Siue0tlon 


simple,  definite  and  reasonable ;  one  which  will  readily 
commend  itself  to  all,  who  are  willing  to  accept  the  com- 
plete array  of  the  spiritual  and  material  facts. 

This  answer  as  to  our  origin  is  intimately  connected 
with  the  question  as  to  what  we  are.  Indeed  the  knowl- 
edge which  we  have  of  our  origin  is,  in  large  measure, 
derived  from  what  we  know  ourselves  to  be.  The  an- 
swer to  this  second  question  has  thus  in  some  degree 
been  anticipated,  but  it  needs  further  unfolding  and  pre- 
sentation. 


|tttttitix)c  ^cvcc^jtioit 

CHAPTER    III 


umbat  are  liac  ? 

Section  I     "I  am"     "I  continue  to  be" 

In  logical  order,  or  the  order  of  nature,  the  ^rsi  affirm- 
ation of  Consciousness  may  be  said  to  be  "/am."  Of 
course  it  is  not  intended  that  this  is  in  any  metaphysical, 
or  philosophical  form.  It  is  the  simple  consciousness  of 
being.  We  have  an  intuitive  cognition  that  we  are ;  we 
know  fha^  we  are.  This  is  presupposed  by,  or  included 
in  all  knowledge,  and  all  experience  of  every  kind;  it  is 
the  starting  point  and  foundation  of  every  thing  else.  It 
is  absolutely  positive,  assured,  indubitable,  infallible.  It  is 
the  one  great  reality  which  gives  us  our  primary  concep- 
tion and  assurance  of  all  other  real  being.  By  knowing 
what  it  is  in  ourselves  "to  be,"  we  know  what  it  is  for 
other  persons  and  things  to  be,  should  there  be  any  such 
persons  and  things.  If  we  can  doubt,  or  deny  our  own 
being,  we  can  doubt,  or  deny  the  reality  of  all  other  be- 
ing ;  but  as  we  cannot  doubt,  nor  deny  our  own  real 
being,  we  cannot  doubt,  nor  deny  the  possibility  of  other 
real  entities.  The  reason  why  this  knowledge  is  infallible 
and  indubitable  is  because  it  is  the  seeing,  the  intuition, 
the  cognizing  of  that  which  is  and  is  present.  The  real- 
ity is — we  know  it.  Our  knowledge  of  it  may  be  very 
limited,  but  as  far  as  we  cognize  it,  we  know  the  very 
thing  itself.  To  say  that  we  know  the  real  thing,  and 
that  it  may  not  be,  or  may  be  other  than  we  know  it  to 
be,  is  contradiction  and  absurdity. 

75 


76  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Tllnbrohcn  Continutts  ot  3Betns 


The  second  affirmation  of  Consciousness  is  "/  continue 
to  be.^'  Or  the  two  may  be  presented  as  one.  "  I  am 
and  I  continue  to  be."  Here  again  we  cast  aside  all 
things  of  a  metaphysical  or  philosophical  character. 
Here  we  have  the  simple  consciousness  of  "  unbroken 
continuity  of  continued  being."  This  affirmation  is  just 
as  positive,  definite,  assured,  indubitable,  infallible  as  the 
affirmation  "  /  am.''  We  intuitively  cognize  that  we  are, 
that  we  endure,  that  there  is  no  break,  nor  interruption 
in  our  continued  being.  There  is  an  onflow,  or  duration 
of  our  being.  Hence  we  have  a  present,  a  past  and  an 
ongoing  to  the  future.  We  do  not  know  how  long  a 
past  we  have  had,  we  do  not  know  how  long  a  future 
may  be  ours.  The  past  is  not,  and  we  can  have  no  in- 
tuition of  it ;  the  future  is  not  and  of  it  likewise  we  can 
have  no  intuition  ;  we  cannot  see  that  which  is  not.  Yet 
it  is  an  intuitive  truth,  that  while  we  have  any  being 
ours  is  a  past,  present  and  future ;  for  the  intuition  which 
we  have  is  that  of  a  present  reality,  namely  ours  is  a 
duration,  a  continuation  of  being;  as  long  as  we  are,  we 
are  passing  from  one  7noment  to  attother.  We  cognize 
this  as  the  essential  character  of  our  being  as  it  now  is. 
This  is  our  intuition  of  Personal  Identity. 

Section  II  Personal  Identity 
There  is  no  doubt  that  we  have  this  Intuition.  We 
all  have  the  positive  assurance  that  we  who  now  are,  are 
the  same  persons  that  we  were  in  the  past,  and  the  same 
that  we  will  be  in  the  future,  as  long  as  we  live.  But 
the  presentation  of  this  assurance  of  Personal  Identity, 
which  is  usually  given  is  unsatisfactory  and  erroneous. 
It  is  really  an  intuitive  truth,  but  it  cannot  be  such  if  the 
ordinary  explanation  of  it,  taken  as  a  whole,  be  correct. 
It  is  generally  founded  upon  memory  and  a  persuasion, 
a   belief,  or   judgment,  but  none  of   these  are  intuitive. 


"I  AM"    ''I  CONTINUE"  -jy 

TIlnsatisfactorB  Bjpositions 


Thus  it  is  said  that  we  have  a  remembrance  of  a  past 
experience  of  a  varied  and  drawn  out  character,  and  that, 
as  we  recall  this  past,  a  belief,  or  judgment  arises  within 
us,  that  we  are  the  persons  who  had  this  experience. 

Thus  Dugald  Stewart  taught  "as  the  belief  of  our 
present  existence  necessarily  accompanies  every  act  of 
consciousness,  so  from  a  comparison  of  the  sensations 
and  thoughts  of  which  we  are  now  conscious,  with  those 
of  which  we  recollect  to  have  been  conscious  formerly, 
we  are  impressed  with  an  irresistible  conviction  of  our 
personal  identity''  again  ''It  is  by  Consciousness  and 
Memory  that  the  sameness  of  our  being  is  ascertained  to 
ourselves,"  again,  "Our  belief  of  our  personal  identity 
presupposes  *  *  *  the  exercise  of  memory  and  the  idea 
of  time."     Vol.  v.  59-60. 

Thus  Dr.  McCosh  writes,  "  But  in  every  exercise  of 
memory  we  have  a  remembrance  of  a  past  self.  We 
remember  the  event  as  in  past  time.  We  remember  it  as 
an  experience  of  self."  "  Having  thus  a  past  self  brought 
up  by  memory,  and  a  present  under  consciousness,  we 
compare  them  and  afifirm  that  they  are  the  same.  This 
is  simply  the  expression  of  the  fact  falling  under  the  eye 
of  consciousness."  "Personality  is  the  self  of  which  we 
are  conscious  in  every  mental  act.  Personal  Identity  is 
the  sameness  of  the  conscious  self  as  perceived  at  differ- 
ent times.  The  phrases  do  not  point  to  some  unknown 
essence  apart  from,  or  behind  the  known  thing.  They 
simply  designate  an  essential,  an  abiding  element  of  the 
thing  known.  As  personality  and  personal  identity  ap- 
pear, we  are  entitled  to  insist  that  they  be  brought  out 
to  view  and  expressed  in  every  proper  science  of  psy- 
chology." "We  do  not  figure  self  as  remaining  the 
same ;  we  judge,  or  decide  the  conscious  self  of  to-day 
to  be  the  same  as  the  conscious  self  of  yesterday  remem- 
bered by  us."     Defence  of  Fundamental  Truth,  91-94. 


78  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 


"  It  will  be  observed  that  here,  as  in  every  other  case, 
the  judgment  throws  us  back  on  cognition,  specially  per- 
sonality, and  belief;  the  necessary  facts  on  which  the 
mind  pronounces  the  necessary  judgment  are  furnished 
in  the  exercise  of  consciousness  and  memory."  "First 
and  Fundamental  Truths,"  192. 

This  exposition,  as  thus  given  and  as  given  by  other 
recent  writers,  may,  in  some  of  the  expressions  used, 
border  very  closely  upon  the  truth,  but  it  is  unsatisfac- 
tory, because  it  does  not  distinctly  state  the  essential 
fact,  apart  from  all  that  is  extraneous,  and  irrelevant ; 
and  is  erroneous  because  it  introduces  memory,  com- 
parison, belief,  judgment,  which  cannot  be  included  in 
that  which  is  intuitive,  and  which  are  not  within  our 
primary  cognition  of  Personal  Identity. 

The  definite  and  infallible  afifirmation  of  Consciousness 
is  "/  am  and  I  continue  to  be.'''  This  is  "Personal 
Identity" — an   unbroketi  continuity  of  continued  being. 

Strictly  speaking  Memory  has  no  necessary  part  in  our 
assurance  of  Identity,  in  its  absolutely  prime  simplicity. 
We  may  have  no  remembrance  of  our  past  self ;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  this  is,  in  a  large  measure,  the  actual  case; 
we  do  not  know  how  long  our  past  has  been ;  we  have 
no  memory  of  our  infancy ;  a  great  part  of  our  childhood 
and  more  matured  life  is  hopelessly  lost ;  it  is  a  merest 
fraction  of  our  past  experience  that  we  can  recall ;  we 
have  been  one-third  of  our  time  unconscious  in  sleep ; 
sometimes  the  whole  life  has  passed  into  oblivion  as  the 
result  of  disease,  or  injury  and  the  man's  experience  has 
begun  entirely  anew  ;  but  all  this  in  nowise  impairs  the 
simple,  definite  affirmation  of  Personal  Identity — "/  am 
and  /  continue  to  be." 

Theoretically  and  hypothetically,  we  may  imagine  a 
soul  to  have  had  no  past,  without  impairing  this  intuition 
of  Identity.     The  instant  a  soul  is  by  creative  act  brought 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  79 

flbemorg  not  neeOcD 


into  being,  it  might  be  conceived  of,  theoretically,  as 
having  the  consciousness  of  this  unbroken  continuity  of 
being.  As  an  essential  part  of  the  "I  am"  is  the  "I 
continue."  With  this  consciousness  of  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  continued  being,  it  matters  not  whether  we 
have  had  a  past  long  or  short,  or,  as  in  the  case  im- 
agined, none  at  all ;  it  matters  not  whether  it  be  wholly, 
or  in  part  remembered,  or  altogether  forgotten ;  the 
present  instant  may  fade  away  into  oblivion  as  it  passes, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  vast  majority  of  our  fleeting 
moments,  but  "/  continued  This  is  the  testimony  of 
Consciousness. 

Into  this  '' Intuitio7i,'''  a  past  self  cannot  enter.  We 
can  have  an  intuitive  cognition  only  of  our  present  self. 
What  we  once  were,  or  might  have  been,  we  must  learn 
in  some  other  way ;  by  records,  the  testimony  of  others, 
or  by  our  own  remembrance.  This  latter  is  an  entirely 
different  department  and  activity  of  the  soul.  We  have 
an  intuitive  cognition  of  the  remembrance,  but  the  re- 
membrance itself  is  the  act  of  another  faculty.  More- 
over, memory  is  variable,  fragmentary,  unreliable.  Men 
often  "positively  remember"  what  never  took  place,  and 
are  surprised  at  their  own  mistaken  assurances.  To 
found  our  knowledge  of  Personal  Identity  upon  any  in- 
dividual supposed  remembrance  may  be  resting  it  upon 
a  mere  fancy  of  the  imagination ;  and  if  it  be  thus  with 
one,  why  might  it  not  be  thus  with  all  our  remembrances. 

In  reality  our  knowledge  that  we  may  have  had  a  past 
does  not  depend  upon  memory,  but  upon  the  cognition 
that  ours  is  an  onward  duration  of  being.  This  gives  us 
a  past.  Knowing  that  we  may  have  had,  or  that  we  have 
had  a  past,  we  learn  from  memory  what  its  character 
was ;  it  pictures  and  paints  the  past.  We  may  conclude 
that  we  were  yesterday,  or  last  year,  because  we  remem- 
ber that  we  did,  or  said   something  then,  but  this  is  an 


8o  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

IWot  from  Melict  nor  Comparison 


inference,  and  is  upon  the  supposition,  that  the  remem- 
brance is  correct,  which  it  may  not  be. 

When  it  is  said  that  with  the  remembrance  there  arises 
an  irresistible  Belief,  a  mystery  is  introduced ;  no  explan- 
ation is  given  of  how,  or  why  such  belief  arises. 

When  it  is  said,  that  we  compare  our  present  self  with 
our  remembrance  of  our  past  self,  we  not  only  pass  away 
from  infallible  Intuition  to  other  activities  and  attributes, 
but  also  introduce  a  twofold  uncertainty ;  our  compari- 
son may  be  erroneous,  and  our  judgment  may  be  wrong. 
And  as  the  remembrance  may  be,  and  often  is  a  mere 
fictitious  fancy,  the  judgment  pronounced  may  be  the 
affirmation  of  the  identity  of  the  present  self  with  that 
which  never  was. 

We  do  not,  and  cannot  compare  our  present  self  with 
a  past  self,  and  declare  them  identical. 

In  fact  we  find  them  very  dissimilar.  I  remember  a 
little  boy  going  to  school,  and  comparing  myself  with 
him  in  his  littleness,  with  his  ignorance,  and  childish  acts 
and  delights  and  conduct,  I  find  it  hard  to  believe  that 
he  and  I  can  possibly  be  the  same.  The  memories  of 
the  past  become  more  and  more  like  my  present  self, 
only  as  they  are  memories  of  that  which  is  less  and  less 
remote. 

Of  concepts,  now  before  my  mind,  I  cannot  affirm  that 
they  are  identical  with  a  past  reality,  nor  that  these  con- 
cepts are  identical  with  coftcepts,  which  I  have  had  before. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  affirm,  that  in  my  boyhood 
I  was  identically  such  as  I  now  think  I  was ;  the  diversity 
may  be  of  the  most  marked  character.  I  remember  the 
house  where  I  spent  my  childhood,  but  I  could  not  draw 
an  accurate  picture  of  it,  nor  one  as  accurate  as  that, 
which  I  might  have  made  some  years  ago. 

These  are  the  characteristics  of  our  recollections.  They 
are  continually  losing  in  vividness,  in  details,  in  accuracy, 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  8i 

©ivcs  Difference  ratber  tban  Sameness 


in  reliability,  and  in  regard  to  our  confidence  in  them. 
They  are,  moreover,  actually  changing  by  new  additions, 
and  confusion  of  one  with  another ;  and,  old  thoughts 
are  often  mistaken  for  new,  and  new  often  regarded  as 
those  with  which  we  have  long  been  familiar. 

It  is,  therefore,  a  delusion  to  suppose,  that  we  can,  by 
comparmg  our  present  self  with  anything  in  the  past, 
positively  affirm  that  they  are  identical.  We  can  only 
affirm,  with  more  or  less  confidence,  or  hesitancy,  some 
degree  of  resemblance ;  and  we  may  be,  and  often  are  al- 
together wrong. 

By  what  possibility  can  I,  upon  comparing  the  con- 
cept which  I  have  of  a  little  boy,  and  that  which  I  have 
of  a  man,  such  as  I  now  am,  affirm  the  identity  of  the 
two  persons?  There  may  never  have  been  such  a  little 
boy;  the  particular  concept,  with  which  I  am  comparing 
myself,  may  be  a  mistake.  As  far  as  comparison  and 
judgment  are  concerned,  it  is  difference,  not  sameness, 
that  is  revealed.  The  judgment,  as  the  result  of  the 
comparison  is,  that  the  remembered  self  is  different  and 
extremely  different  from  the  present  self.  If  with  Dr. 
McCosh,  we  affirm  that  we  remember  the  concept  as  an 
experience  of  self,  comparison,  and  judgment  are  pre- 
cluded. Memory  is  every  thing  and  all-sufficient.  I 
simply  know  that,  I,  who  now  am,  am  the  same  that  I 
was,  because  Memory  assures  me  that  the  concept  of  the 
past,  which  it  presents,  is  a  concept  of  mine  own  self. 
Thus  Personal  Identity  becomes  a  mere  uncertain,  frag- 
mentary experience.  Its  proof  is  cumulative ;  it  is  de- 
rived from  a  series  of  remembrances  of  a  more,  or  less 
doubtful  character;  the  longer  the  series  the  greater  the 
proof.  It  is  not  a  necessary  truth,  and  has  no  reference 
to  the  forgotten  past,  nor  to  the  unknown  future. 

Whatever  may  be  true  of  Memory,  as  an  actual  im- 
pression made,  as  Dr.  McCosh  seems  to  think,  indelibly 
6 


82  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

/Ibemorg  "OlnrcKablc 


upon  the  soul,  it  is  certainly,  in  its  character  as  a  recol- 
lecthig,  or  recollection  of  the  past,  and  as  far  as  it  is  of 
practical  use  to  us,  most  fragmentary,  variable,  unrelia- 
ble ;  and  Personal  Identity,  founded  on  it,  would  be  of 
the  same  character.  Those  having  a  true,  full  and  vivid 
recollection,  and  well  under  their  control,  would  have  a 
better  assurance  of  Identity,  than  those  whose  recollec- 
tions were  meagre,  weak,  treacherous.  Men  would  have 
no  proof  of  their  Identity  except  in  regard  to  those  iso- 
lated times,  and  experiences  of  which  they  have  a  true 
recollection.  In  mere  memory  there  would  be  nothing 
fo  bind  all  the  separate  concepts  brought  before  the  mind 
together  with  the  missing  ones,  which  we  do  not  recol- 
lect. The  judgment  could  only  be,  I  am,  and  I  am  the 
same  as  in  such  and  such  recollected  moments ;  for  these 
are  the  only  ones  with  which  the  present  self  is  com- 
pared. We  cannot  compare  our  present  self  with  our 
infant  self,  and  judge  them  identical.  We  cannot  com- 
pare our  present  self  with  a  dreamless,  sleeping  self,  and 
judge  them  to  be  the  same.  We  may  compare  a  recol- 
lected self  before  sleep  with  our  present  awakened  self, 
and  judge  them  to  be  the  same,  but  we  cannot  compare 
these  with  a  dreamless,  sleeping  self,  and  judge  their 
identity.  Should  one  die,  and  after  ten  thousand  years 
rise  from  the  grave,  with  no  remembrance  of  these  years, 
mere  memory  could  not  assure  him,  that  he  had  lived, 
and  had  remained  the  same  person  through  them  all. 
Between  the  present  self  and  the  self  of  this  period,  there 
could  be  no  comparison,  and  judgment  possible. 

Thus  it  is,  necessarily,  in  regard  to  all  the  innumer- 
able moments  of  the  past  of  which  we  are  oblivious,  and 
by  which  the  few  recollected  moments  are  separated  far 
asunder.  Yet  the  fact  is,  that  we  are  as  much  assured 
of  our  identity  in  all  such  times,  as  that  we  are  the  same 
in  all  our  isolated,  recollected  moments.     I  am  as  sure 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  83 

Sometbinfl  JElsc  necC)e& 


of  my  identity  with  my  Infant  self,  as  I  am  of  my  identity 
with  myself  of  the  last  hour. 

To  afirni  the  identity  of  the  present  self,  with  all  the 
past,  however  distant  and  whether  recollected,  or  entirely 
unrecalled,  some  thing  is  needed,  which  mere  memory 
does  not,  and  cannot  furnish.  This  is  found  in  the  In- 
tuitive Cognition  of  the  true  character  of  my  very  being; 
it  is  essentially  an  unbroken  continuity  of  continued  ex- 
istence. A  cognition  of  what  I  now  am,  and  must 
necessarily  be  whether  in  past  or  future.  A  cognition 
which  did  not  originate  in  Memory,  and  which  is,  and 
abides  irrespective,  and  independently  of  Memory,  and 
which  presents  a  necessity  overspreading  my  whole  pos- 
sible being;  a  necessity  which  Memory,  no  one  word  of 
which  is  infallible,  cannot  give,  and  of  which  it  cannot  be 
the  foundation. 

If  it  be  said,  that  it  is  the  Judgment  which  declares 
the  necessity  of  Identity,  the  reply  is,  that  this  is  the 
wrong  thought,  and  the  use  of  the  wrong  word.  It  is 
not  Judgment,  but  Cognition.  Judgment  only  declares 
that  which  by  comparison  and  investigation  is  discovered; 
that  which  is  seen,  perceived,  cognized  to  be.  The  Cog- 
nition must  come  first.  We  speak  that  which  we  know, 
we  testify  that,  which  we  have  seen.  //  Memory  pre- 
sents a  necessary  truth,  which  in  fact  it  does  not  do,  we 
do  not  judge,  we  cognize  that  it  does  :  if  our  present 
Consciousness  presents  it,  we  cognize  it  as  such.  More- 
over Judgment,  even  if  the  act  be  a  judgment,  cannot 
build  necessity  upon  a  dubious  foundation,  such  as  Mem- 
ory is,  and  can  pronounce  Identity  without  any  memory 
whatever. 

The  true  statement  of  the  case,  as  to  Memory  and 
Identity  is — I  am,  and  I  perceive  that  I  have  certain 
concepts  of  myself,  which  arise  within  me,  with  which  I 
am  already  more  or   less    familiar,  and    which,  in  some 


84  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec. 

TRelation  of  iTIbcmotg  anO  IF&cntiti? 

measure,  go  and  come  and  remain  at  my  call ;  and  inde- 
pendently of  this  I  am,  and  mine  is  an  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  being.  This  is  the  wondrous  truth,  I,  who  am 
essentially  an  abiding  Person,  am  able  to  recall,  more  or 
less  faithfully,  experiences  which  I  have  had  in  the  past. 
As  a  priority  to  all  else,  I  know,  that  if  I  have  been  in 
the  past,  or  .if  I  shall  be  in  the  future,  it  must  necessarily 
be  by  an  unbroken  continuity  of  my  being. 

The  a  priori  conception  is,  that  amid  all  changes  I  am 
and  must  be  the  same.  Memory  speaks  of  changes,  not 
of  sameness.  By  its  presentation  of  an  endless  array  of 
vicissitudes,  of  almost  incredible  differences,  of  scattered 
fragments  of  experiences,  separated  by  long  periods  of 
oblivion,  it  would  persuade  me  that  I  am  not  the  same 
that  I  once  was ;  that  the  unremembered,  unknown, 
hypothetical  babe,  in  whom  I  have  no  interest,  and  to 
whose  sufferings,  sorrows,  joys  I  am  utterly  indifferent, 
was  another  being  from  myself.  But  all  this,  presented 
by  Memory,  though  magnified  a  thousand  fold,  cannot 
overthrow  the  a  priori  assurance  "  in  past,  present  and 
future  I  am,  and  must  be  the  same;"  an  assurance  de- 
rived from  the  cog7iition  of  the  essential  character  of  my 
being. 

The  babe  at  the  mother's  breast,  we  may  suppose,  has 
no  remembrance,  but  we  must  think  that  it  has  the  pres- 
ent consciousness  of  continued  satisfaction,  comfort, 
pleasure.  We  cannot  help  thinking  that  actually  the 
beginning  of  our  consciousness  is,  that  "  I  am — I  con- 
tinue." /  am,  but  not  as  a  flash-light ;  my  perception 
of  external  objects,  my  mental  states  have  a  certain  de- 
gree of  continuation,  and  as  they  come  and  stay,  and  go, 
I  myself  remain  with  an  unbroken  continuity  of  being. 
This  is  the  cognition,  which  I  have  of  myself ;  and  I  am 
unable  to  think  of  myself  as  being  different  from  this. 
The   only  conception,  which   I   am  able  to  have  of   my 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  85 

JEescntial  IRature  of  Self 

present  self,  or  consciousness  is  that  of  an  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  on-going  being.  This  conception  is  that  of 
my  Personal  Identity.  If  I  have  a  past  it  must  be  my- 
self same  self  that  has  it.  I  must  go  back  to  it  by  an 
unbroken  continuity  of  being ;  if  I  have  a  future  I  must 
go  forward  to  it  by  an  unbroken  continuity  of  being. 
Here  is  the  possibility  of  a  past  and  a  future  for  myself. 
Memory  pictures  the  one,  and  anticipation  pictures  the 
other.  So  far  as  anticipation  is  well  founded,  I  may 
have  confidence  in  its  future  realization ;  so  far  as  mem- 
ory is  vivid,  unvarying,  and  its  reliability  tested  by  ex- 
perience, I  may  have  confidence  in  its  presentation  of  the 
past ;  and  if  trite,  it  is  proof  that  I  have  had  a  past  of 
that  character. 

A  remembrance  of  a  past  self  is  only  a  picture  of  it. 
I  identify  it  with  my  present  self,  only  by  the  cognition 
of  it  as  a  concept  of  myself,  which  has  remained  with  me, 
A  Concept  of  myself  which  /  already  have,  or  which  I, 
already  abiding,  have  retained.  And  as  I  know  that  mine 
is  an  unbroken  continuity  of  being,  as  I  have  no  knowledge 
of  myself  but  of  mine  own  one,  indivisible  self,  the  old 
self  and  all  possible  intervening  selves  must  be  one,  and 
the  same  with  my  present  and  future  self.  It  is  not  by 
memory,  that  I  identify  myself  with  a  future  self,  but  by 
the  knowledge  which  I  have  of  the  essential  character  of 
my  present  self,  its  unbroken  continuity  of  continued 
being.  So  it  is  not  by  tnemory,  but  by  this  same  knowl- 
edge that  I  identify  myself  with  all  my  past.  It  is  this 
which  makes  memory  practically  possible. 

I  have  two  concepts  before  my  mind  of  two  little  boys 
at  school.  How  do  I  know,  that  one  is  a  remembrance 
of  myself,  and  the  other  a  present  new  imagination?  It 
is  because  I  recognize  the  former  as  a  concept  of  a  per- 
sonal experience  which  has  remained  with  me ;  it  is  not 
new,  it  is  old,  familiar,  it  is  like,  a  concept  which  I  have 


86  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec 

Bbl&fng  ipersonallts  nee&ct)  for  ^emor^ 


had  before.  Here  the  essential  element  is  the  present 
consciousness  of  mine  own  continuation,  and  a  priori- 
ness.  I,  an  abiding  one,  have  this  old,  familiar  concept 
abiding  with  me.  It  is  familiar,  that  is  it  is  like  one 
which  I  have  had  before. 

The  very  efifort,  and  act  of  recollecting  begin  with  the 
consciousness  of  an  abiding  Personality.  I  cannot  en- 
deavor to  recall  a  forgotten  concept,  without  first  think- 
ing of  myself  as  abiding,  and  as  having  had  the  concept; 
and  this  previous  thought  of  myself  may  be  long  con- 
tinued, if,  as  is  often  the  case,  I  am  unable  to  recall  the 
concept  without  long  continued  effort.  And  I  cannot 
think  of  the  concept,  when  it  is  recalled,  as  like  one 
which  I  have  had  before,  without  first  thinking  of  myself 
as  already  being ;  as  an  abiding  person,  who  before  had 
the  concept  which  the  recalled  one  resembles. 

This  is  that  of  which  1  am  now  conscious,  there  are 
concepts  which  I  already  have,  in  such  a  sense,  that  I 
perceive  them  simply  by  directing  my  consciousness  to 
them.  A  painting  may  be  hanging  on  the  wall  before 
me,  I  open  my  eyes  and  see  it,  I  shut  my  eyes  and  it  dis- 
appears ;  I  open  my  eyes  again,  and  I  see  it  again,  and 
thus  on,  and  on  repeatedly.  The  painting  itself  appears, 
and  disappears,  as  I  open  and  shut  my  eyes.  So  with 
the  remembered  concepts.  They  are  in  the  mind,  and 
they  appear  and  disappear  as  I  direct,  or  withdraw  my 
mind's  eye  to,  or  from  them,  or  as  I  open,  or  shut  my 
mind's  eye  upon  them. 

This  is  the  reason  why  I  know,  that  the  concept  now 
before  my  mind  is  like  the  one  which  I  had  before.  The 
latter  has  passed  away,  and  I  cannot  compare  the  recalled 
concept  with  it  and  see  how  similar,  or  dissimilar  they 
may  be.  I  know  the  recollected  concept  is  like  the 
original  only  in  so  far  as  I  perceive,  that  it  is  one  which 
I  see  simply  by  directing  my  attention  to  it.     Frequently 


u  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  87 

l)ow  Memories  are  lRecognl3c& 


I  am  in  doubt  if  the  recollection  be  correct.  I  endeavor 
to  determine  its  correctness,  and  to  make  it  correct  if  I 
find  it  in  part  erroneous,  simply  by  concentrating  my  at- 
tention upon  it,  and  detecting  its  character ;  how  far  it 
is  a  concept,  which  I  now  have  before  me  by  simply  see- 
ing it.     Is  it  one  which  I  simply  cognize? 

This  is  also  the  reason  why  our  memories  change,  and 
become  erroneous,  without  our  losing  our  confidence  in 
them.  As  they  fade  we  work  upon  them  by  thought, 
and  imagination,  restoring  lost  features,  and  adding  new 
ones  :  we  diminish  and  magnify  them.  It  is  often  the 
case,  that  men  have  left  the  scenes  of  their  childhood, 
and  have  long  lived  in  an  enlarged  world,  and  have  been 
surprised,  and  disappointed,  upon  returning  to  their 
childhood's  home,  upon  finding  it  so  dififerent  from  their 
childish  remembrance ;  so  inferior,  so  contracted,  so 
barren,  so  unattractive. 

The  changes,  wrought  by  us  in  our  memories,  may 
have  been  done  deliberately,  and  intentionally  at  some 
time  in  the  past,  but  this  we  have  forgotten;  or,  as  is 
the  general  case,  the  alterations  have  been  made  thought- 
lessly, very  gradually  through  a  long  course  of  time ;  we 
are  not  aware  of  it,  and,  as  we  now  look  upon  the  con- 
cept, that  which  we  see  is,  not  the  original,  but  the 
secondary  one,  and  in  it  we  place  as  much  confidence  as 
we  did  in  the  original.  Hence  it  is,  that  new  concepts 
are  sometimes  mistaken  for  old,  familiar  ones.  They 
have  appeared  before  the  mind,  without  our  noticing  by 
what  mental  operation  they  are  there.  We  have  also 
seized  hold  of  them  so  readily,  and  have  accommodated 
ourselves  to  them  so  easily,  that  they  seem  like  concepts 
which  we  already  have,  and  which  we  know  simply  by 
seeing  them. 

The  reason  why  we  can  recognize  memories  as  such  is, 
because  we  are  conscious  of  our  different  mental  attri- 


88  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec. 

JTbe  abiding  of  Concepts 


butes,  and  activities.  I  know  when  I  am  perceiving  ex- 
ternal objects ;  when  I  am  engaged  in  discursive  reason- 
ing ;  when  I  am  making  a  choice ;  when  I  am  anticipat- 
ing the  future ;  when  I  am  creating  images  of  my 
imagination ;  and  I  know  when  I  am  simply  directing 
my  attention  to  that  which  is  already  in  my  mind,  and 
presents  itself  to  me,  or  which  I  find  by  looking  for  it. 
The  former  of  these  two  are  our  ordinary  recollections, 
and  the  latter  those  which  we  deliberately  recall. 

Again,  even  the  Abiding  of  our  remembered  concepts 
can  not  give  us  our  assurance  of  Identity.  The  remem- 
brance remains  with  us,  but  not  steadfastly.  It  comes 
and  goes ;  there  are  long  periods  of  complete  forgetful- 
ness,  separating  its  different  appearances ;  it  does  not  re- 
main the  same ;  it  changes,  losing  in  vividness  and  in  its 
character;  it  gathers  to  itself  features,  which  do  not 
really  belong  to  the  original ;  and  oft  times  it  will  not 
return  at  my  call,  and  at  a  later  time  appears  of  itself,  or 
is  irrevocably  lost.  How  do  I  know  that  with  these 
fluctuations  in  the  concept  itself,  there  may  not  be  a  cor- 
responding fluctuation  in  my  being?  How  do  I  know 
that  this  not  only  has  not  been,  but  is  also  impossible? 
It  is  only  because  I  already  know  my  own  necessary,  un- 
broken continuity  ;  /  am  mine  own  one  living  self. 

We  do  not  hold  that  Memory  has  nothing  to  do  with 
"Personal  Identity"  as  a  concept  of  discursive  reason- 
ing, and  as  a  formulated  Truth.  It  may  readily  be  ad- 
mitted, that  Memory  is  an  occasion  and  a  prompting  of 
this.  We  may  be  perfectly  familiar  with  our  real  Identity 
without  the  question  concerning  it,  being  before  the 
mind.  There  must  be  some  experience,  or  occasion  to 
awaken  a  train  of  thought  regarding  it.  In  the  time  of 
the  large  wheel  Bicycle,  the  question  was  asked  of  a 
countryman  on  a  road — have  you  seen  a  Bicycle  pass 
this    way?     He    replied,   *' I    have  seen  nothing  of   that 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  89 

/Dbcmon?  tbc  ©cession 


kind,  but  I  saw  the  strangest  thing  in  the  world,  a  cart- 
wheel running  away  with  a  man."  So  a  little  girl  may 
be  asked  as  to  her  "Personal  Identity,"  and  she  might 
say,  "  I  never  had  anything  like  that,  but  I  want  to  tell 
you,  I  am  going  to  a  party  to-morrow."  She  did  not 
know  what  "Personal  Identity"  was,  but  she  knew  the 
thing  itself  and  expressed  it.  Had  she  been  questioned 
thus — "Are  you  the  same  little  girl  that  you  were  yester- 
day and  will  be  to-morrow?"  the  response  like  a  flash  of 
light  would  have  come,  "  Of  course  I  am,  what  a  funny 
question  to  ask,  how  could  I  be  anything  else?"  In  an 
instant,  without  hesitation,  without  thought,  or  compari- 
son, or  judgment,  and  with  perfect  confidence  in  the 
truth,  and  in  its  necessity,  the  answer  comes  to  a  ques- 
tion never  proposed  to  her  before.  She  knew  the  truth, 
and  never  had  any  other  thought  than  that  of  "  her  ov^n 
one  living  self."  So  with  us  all.  Before  2iny  question  of 
"Personal  Identity"  arises,  or  is  presented,  we  are  famil- 
iar with  the  fact  of  our  own  one  living  self. 

We  do  not  derive  the  thought,  that  we  abide  from  the 
fact  that  we  have  abiding  concepts  ;  for  in  point  of  time 
memory  is  not  our  first  experience  of  this  character. 
Before  it  is  the  consciousness,  "  I  am,  I  am  " — "  I  live  on, 
and  on."  We  do  not  derive  necessity  and  unbroken 
continuity  from  abiding  concepts ;  for  our  memories  are 
interrupted,  fluctuating,  uncertain,  perishable.  We  do 
not  know  that  the  concept  of  our  earliest  recollection, 
nor  that  of  any  has  abided.  We  only  know,  that  it  is  in 
the  mind  now,  and  that  it  was  in  the  mind  at  various 
times  during  past  years.  That  this  is  by  an  abiding  of 
the  concept  is  a  thought  derived  from  the  idea  which  we 
have  of  our  own  living  self. 

This  is  the  Genesis  of  the  idea  of  abiding,  which  we 
have.  I  cognize,  that  I  am  and  continue, — that  I  con- 
tinue with   unbroken  continuity ;  this  is  that,  tvhich  my 


90  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

©encsis  of  BblOing 

continued  being  is.  From  this,  as  a  starting  point.  I 
cognize  an  external  object,  and  as  long  as  I  look  at  it,  it 
continues  with  the  same  kind  of  continuation.  I  cognize 
the  present  states  of  my  mfnd,  and  perceive  something 
of  the  same  kind  of  continuity  in  them.  As  they  appear, 
they  have  some  degree  of  unbroken  continuation,  as  long 
as  I  look  at  them.  As  I  cognize  certain  concepts  as 
memories,  that  is  as  concepts,  which  are  now  in  mind 
and  have  been  repeatedly  in  mind  before,  they  have  as 
now  in  mind  unbroken  continuity,  such  as  I  have,  as 
long  as  I  hold  them  in  mind,  or  as  long  as  I  look  at  them. 
It  is  my  continued  looking  at  them,  which  gives  them 
continuation  to  my  thought.  This  is  all  the  present 
continuation  which  they  have ;  they  vanish  when  I  turn 
my  attention  from  them.  But  I  cognize  them  as  being 
and  continuing  independently  of  any  creating  act  of  mine. 
1  simply  cognize  their  presence.  And  I  have  done  this 
at  intervals  in  the  past,  and  I  can  do  it  now  intermittingly 
at  pleasure.  As  I  look  at  them  again  and  again  they  are 
present ;  as  I  do  not  create  them,  the  only  way  in  which 
I  can  account  for  this  their  presence  with  me  at  succes- 
sive times  in  the  past  and  now,  is  that  in  some  way  they 
abide  with  me.  I  attribute  to  them,  just  as  I  do  to  ex- 
ternal objects,  the  familiar  unbroken  abiding  which  I 
myself  have.  In  no  other  way  can  I  bridge  over  the  in- 
tervals of  oblivion.  I  have  no  conception  of  intermittent 
being,  such  as  these  recollections  seem  to  have,  and 
which  metaphysicians,  in  some  measure,  intimate  when 
they  speak  of  them  as  repr^oductions. 

The  erroneous  claim  has  been  made  that  Remembrance 
is  itself  the  proof  of  Identity,  because  there  must  be  an 
Identical  Self  which  remembers.  But  this  Remembrance 
is  certainly  not  an  infallible  intuition,  v^hich  Identity  is. 
It  is  not  an  act  of  immediate  cognition,  but  of  retention 
and    reproduction ;    and    is    treacherous ;    the    tricks   of 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  91 

H&entits  not  from  IRemcmberfng 


memory  are  proverbial.  I  sit  at  a  table  alone,  I  remem- 
ber to  have  been  there  in  the  past  with  two  men,  I  ex- 
pect to  sit  there  with  two  friends  to-morrow.  I  have 
three  concepts  before  my  mind — that  of  myself  alone,  an 
intuitive  cognition  of  a  present  reality — a  remembrance 
of  the  past — and  an  anticipation  of  the  future.  The  an- 
ticipation does  not  prove  the  future  ;  the  remembrance 
does  not  prove  the  past,  as  it  may  be  erroneous.  The 
concept  of  "myself  alone"  differs  essentially  from  the 
others  ;  it  is  indubitable,  infallibly  true ;  the  others  are 
more  or  less  doubtful.  Even  if  the  remembrance  be 
actually  correct,  we  have  no  positive  assurance  that  such 
is  its  character.  There  is  nothing  in  the  remembrance 
itself,  nor  in  our  contemplation  of  it,  to  guarantee  its 
truth.  We  by  looking  at  them,  can  not  distinguish  cer- 
tai?ily  between  two  dififerent  concepts,  which  appear 
before  the  mind  as  recollections,  one  of  which  is  true 
and  the  other  false,  and  determine  which  is  the  true,  and 
which  is  the  false.  That  which  presents  itself  as  a  recol- 
lection always  wears  the  guise  of  truth. 

Moreover,  to  present  Remembrance  as  proof  of  Ident- 
ity is  to  reverse  the  logical,  natural  and  practical  order. 
There  must  first  be  a  past  self  to  be  remembered,  and  an 
abiding  Identical  Self  to  remember.  This  is  not  so,  for 
I  must  first  know  myself  as  an  abiding  self,  before  I  can, 
at  least,  recognize  a  concept  as  a  remembrance.  All  that 
we  have  already  said  of  Identity  shows  this.  The  /  is 
always  the  first.  I  know  that  I  am  and  that  /  have  a 
concept  which  is  already  familiar  to  me.  //  is  one  which 
I  myself  have  had  before.  As  it  disappears,  I,  the  abid- 
ing one,  recall  it.  And  I  am  aware  that,  independently 
of  such  concept,  I,  my  own  self-same  self  abide.  With- 
out the  antecedent  thought  of  mine  own  abiding  self  I 
cannot  think  of  a  concept  as  one  with  which  I  am  already 
familiar ;  as  one  which  I  have  had  before. 


92  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Zbc  ff>rior  Bssurance 


Again  the  real  question  would  be,  do  I  remember,  is 
my  remembrance  a  remembrance?  To  assume  that  it  is, 
and  present  it  as  proof  of  Identity,  is  simply  to  assume 
the  latter.  What  proof  have  I,  that  my  remembrance  is 
a  remembrance  ?  Mysterious  concepts  have  arisen  in 
my  mind  of  myself  as  being  in  a  different  sphere,  or 
world  than  this.  Are  these  a  remembrance  of  a  pre- 
existence,  or  are  they  imaginations  ?  How  can  I  tell  ? 
Being  positively  sure,  as  in  fact  I  am,,  that  I  have  had, 
and  could  have  had  no  pre-existence,  I  regard  them  as 
imaginations.  So  with  the  ordinary  concepts  which  we 
call  memories,  I  must  have  something  to  enable  me  to 
recognize  them  as  such  ;  to  determine  whether  they  are 
memories,  or  products  of  my  own  mind.  Men  have 
been  known  to  claim  a  memory  of  that  which  was  before 
their  birth,  and  have  only  been  convinced  of  their  mis- 
take by  proof  from  recorded  dates.  In  the  supposed 
case  of  the  three  concepts  of  myself  seated  at  a  table,  I 
must  have  something  to  warrant  me  to  regard  the  antici- 
pation as  a  possibility,  and  the  remembrance  as  a  recol- 
lection of  a  past  reality.  This  is  found  in  the  prior 
assurance,  I  am  an  abiding  Person.  Being  such,  I  recog- 
nize certain  concepts  of  myself  as  possible  for  me  to 
realize  in  the  future,  and  certain  concepts  of  myself  as 
retai?ied  by  myself. 

Moreover,  mere  memory  cannot  be  the  origin,  nor  the 
proof  of  Identity ;  because  it  is  inadequate.  It  does  not 
cover  the  whole  ground.  At  best.  Memory  could  only 
give  the  identification  of  our  present  self  with  a  few 
isolated,  far  separated  fragments  of  a  past  experience  of 
self. 

It  tells  me  nothing  of  the  vast  oblivion  overspreading 
the  past ;  what  rising  and  falling  and  metamorphoses,  or 
permanence  of  being  may  have  been  therein,  nor  how  far 
these  may  be  characteristic  of  the  future.     The  assurance 


II  PERSONAL  IDENTITY  93 

a  3Far»lRcacbtng  ®ne 


which  I  have  of  my  Personal  Identity  is  a  far-reaching 
one.  It  binds  all  my  being  in  one  united  whole,  one  in- 
divisible unit.  I  am  the  same  Person  that  I  was  in  the 
months  before  birth,  throughout  my  entire  Infancy,  and 
early  childhood,  throughout  all  my  maturing  life  to  the 
present  hour,  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  present, 
in  all  remembered  moments,  through  the  times  of 
sleep  and  periods  of  which  no  trace  of  memory  remains, 
I  am  the  same  now  that  I  shall  be  throughout  all  the 
future,  while  I  have  any  being,  through  my  entire  life 
here,  be  it  long  or  short,  through  the  mysteries  of  the 
disembodied  state,  prolonged  perhaps  through  many 
thousands  of  years,  and  through  all  the  countless  ages  of 
the  life  hereafter,  if  Resurrection  and  Immortality  be  my 
portion.  This  assurance,  infallible  and  indubitable,  comes 
to  me  from  one  single,  simple.  Intuitive  Cognition  of  the 
essential  character  of  my  present  Being. — /  am,  /  con- 
tinue.— Mine  is  an  unbroken  continuity  of  being.  It  is 
this  Intuitive  Cognition,  which  alone  can,  and  does  make 
memory,  and  anticipation  possible,  which  can,  and  does 
enable  me  to  know  them  as  such.  It  is  this  Intuitive 
Cognition  alone,  which  can,  and  does  bind  all  the  for- 
gotten, and  all  the  remembered  past,  the  present  and  the 
mysterious  possibilities  of  the  boundless,  unknown  future 
into  the  unity  of  the  One  Person,  I  myself. 

Whatever  individual  errors  or  flaws  may  be  discovered 
in  what  we  have  said,  it  must,  taken  as  a  whole,  be  re- 
garded as  conclusive.  Mem.ory,  experience,  comparison, 
belief,  judgment  have  no  part  in  our  primary  assurance 
of  Personal  Identity.  It  is  by  this  Intuitive  Cognition  of 
the  essential  character  of  our  present  being  that  we 
know  that  we  are  and  must  ever  be  the  same. 

And  even  if  all  the  arguments  which  we  have  endeav- 
ored to  present  be  cast  aside  as  useless,  the  testimony  of 
Universal    Consciousness    cannot    be    denied.     All    men 


94  HI     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Zbc  IRcw  tt>0Bcbolo0i2 


know,  with  a  knowledge  which  cannot  be  shaken,  that 
in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  they  must  be  one  and  the 
same.  This  is  the  Intuitive  Cognition  of  Personal  Iden- 
tity. This  knowledge  comes  to  all  men  alike.  That  they 
must  be  the  same,  they  know  because  they  know,  at  once, 
without  argument,  or  proof,  or  reasoning;  without  ex- 
perience or  memory. 

We  do  not  deny  that  the  ordinary  Expositions  are 
correct  in  many  of  their  expressions.  But  we  present 
our  Exposition  as,  unlike  them,  the  positive,  simple, 
definite,  clear  statement,  without  anything  to  confuse  or 
detract  from  it,  and  without  the  introduction  of  anything 
irrelevant,  that  our  Personal  Identity  is  a  pure  Intuitive 
Cognition  of  the  unbroken  continuity  of  our  being,  as  its 
essential  character.  A  simple  Cognition  which,  without 
any  subtilties  of  thought,  is  readily  apprehended  by  all  as 
infallibly  true. 

There  is  another  way  of  explaining  Personal  Identity, 
that  of  the  New  Psychology.  Thus,  for  example,  Dr. 
C.  Van  Norden  says  :  "  There  are  certain  objective  neces- 
sities, learned  by  experience,  that  have  come  to  sway 
thought  in  a  formal  way,  much  as  if  originally  subjective. 
*  *  *  In  this  class  of  intuitions  probably  belong  per- 
sonal identity  and  personal  unity.  That  I  am  myself  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places  and  that  I  am  one  person — 
these  seeming  necessary  postulates  are  no  doubt  results 
of  long  human  experience  and  reflection — facts  discerned 
by  the  race,  but  born  as  necessary  forms  of  thought  in 
the  individual."  This  cannot  be  true.  Consciousness 
expressly  denies  it,  and  it  is  contrary  to  the  very  nature 
of  Consciousness  as  "the  cognition  of  that  which  is." 

Section  III    Double  Personalty,  Sub-Consciousness 

There  is  another  doctrine,  which  seems  to  be  growing 
in  favor,  but  which  is  also  to  be  rejected  as  untrue.     It 


Ill  DOUBLE  PERSONALITY  95 

XLbe  JFacts  IRare  anD  Ibarmful 


is  that  of  a  double  Personality,  or  twofold  Conscious- 
ness, and  Sub-Conscious  activity,  founded  in  large  meas- 
ure upon  experiments  in  hypnotism,  etc. 

The  real  facts  are  not  to  be  called  in  question.  We 
accept  them,  in  so  far  as  properly  stated,  and  authenti- 
cated. The  only  question  regarding  them  is  as  to  their 
presentation  and  proof.  We  do  not  throw  doubt  upon 
the  well  established  facts,  however  strange  they  may  be, 
but  we  deny  the  inference,  or  theory  drawn  from  them. 

The  facts  themselves  are  extremely  rare,  immeasurably 
more  so  than  are  the  ordinary  diseases  among  men.  So 
rare  that  the  multitudes  have  no  knowledge  of  them 
whatever.  This  extreme  rarity  goes  to  show  that  they 
are  abnormal,  unnatural,  a  disorder,  a  sickness,  a  disease. 
This  is  confirmed  by  the  character  and  attendant  circum- 
stances of  the  facts  themselves.  The  experiences  seem 
to  border  almost  upon  the  miraculous,  or  supernatural, 
and  their  practice  is  harmful  and  mischievous  to  the 
body,  and  soul  both  of  the  patient  and  practitioner.  It 
produces  within  both  of  these  exhaustion  of  the  physical, 
and  spiritual  vital  energies,  and  in  various  ways  may  lead 
to  most  disastrous  consequences,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  they  may  be  used  to  effect  most  excellent  and 
desirable  results.  In  this,  however,  they  but  correspond 
with  other  therapeutic  agents,  as  morphine,  arsenic, 
numerous  poisons,  chloroform,  and  even  the  mutilation, 
and  dismemberment  of  the  human  body,  which  in  proper 
hands  is  skillful  surgery.  Moreover,  like  all  medicines 
and  surgery,  they  are  of  value  only  in  cases  and  times  of 
sickness,  and  injury,  mental  aberration,  and  for  scientific 
inquiry.  Otherwise,  they  should  be  altogether  cast 
aside.  Needlessly  indulging  in  such  things,  we  cannot 
live  healthy,  normal,  noble  lives;  we  cannot  be  our  own 
true,  and  best  selves,  with  a  well  founded  prospect  of 
long  life  and  activity,  no  more  than  if  we  spent  most  of 


96  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec. 

Bjplanatfons  I  Soul  anO  JBoOs 


our  time  in  sleep.  With  this  they  are  near  of  kin.  This, 
together  with  that  which  we  have  been  stating,  indicates 
one  of  the  two  elements  in  that,  which  is  probably  the 
true  explanation  of  the  facts  in  question,  both  of  which 
are,  however,  deep-seated  mysteries  of  our  being.  The 
one  is  the  vital  union  of  soul  and  body,  and  the  other 
the  direct  power  of  one  mind,  or  spirit,  over  another. 
We  can  doubt  neither  the  one,  nor  the  other  of  these. 

The  soul  and  body  exert  a  powerful  influence  upon 
one  another.  A  certain  state,  or  condition  of  the  one  is 
accompanied  by  a  corresponding  state,  or  condition  of 
the  other.  When  the  body  is  awake,  we  have  the  awake- 
activity  of  the  soul.  When  the  body  is  asleep,  we  have 
the  ordinary  quiet,  restful  state  of  the  soul,  which  corre- 
sponds thereto.  If  the  body  during  sleep  has  discomfort, 
or  disturbance  from  too  great  heat,  or  cold,  hardness  of 
bed,  cramped  position,  ill-ventilation,  sickness,  etc.,  there 
is  a  corresponding  state  of  the  soul,  with  dreams,  night- 
mare, talking  in  sleep,  out-cries,  somnambulism,  and  even 
long  recitations  of  prose  and  poetry.  Disease  and  fever 
produce  delirium  of  all  degrees,  from  the  mildest  to  that 
of  the  most  extreme  character.  Alcoholism  results  in 
talkativeness,  and  the  outpouring  of  the  inmost  thoughts, 
and  feelings,  all  kinds  of  violent  and  cruel  deeds,  other- 
wise impossible  for  the  man,  and  the  delusion  and  horrors 
of  delirium-tremens.  Disease,  physical  debility  and  de- 
cline produce  forgetfulness,  various  aberrations  of  the 
mental,  voluntary,  and  moral  powers,  lunacy,  second- 
childhood,  senility.  And,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ap- 
proach of  death  is  sometimes  characterized  by  extraordi- 
nary spiritual  exaltation,  and  rapturous  visions  of  things 
unseen  by  others. 

Again  there  is  a  peculiar  semi-sleep  condition  of  the 
body,  with  its  accompanying  disregard  of  surroundings 
and  the  fascinating  delight  of  day-dreams  ;  and  still  further 


Ill  DOUBLE  PERSONALITY  97 

peculiar  Con&ltions 


there  are  deranged  conditions  of  the  body,  produced  by 
opium  and  hasheesh,  which  result  in  the  wonderful 
imagery,  revealed  by  those  who  have  known  them. 
Moreover,  there  are  long  periods  of  unconsciousness  pro- 
duced by  accidents,  by  pressure  upon  the  brain,  chloro- 
form, paralysis,  also  peculiar  conditions,  in  which  the 
only  indications  of  life  are  pulse,  breath,  and  warmth,  and 
during  which  the  soul  is  in  a  trance,  which  is  afterwards 
described.  Then,  too,  there  are  certain  depressed,  and 
oppressed  states  of  the  body  in  which  it  goes  without 
food,  or  drink,  and  seems  indifferent  to  heat  and  cold 
and  harm,  and  during  which  the  soul  is  all  absorbed  with 
profound  thoughts  and  emotions. 

All  these  extraordinary,  and  wonderful  spiritual  phe- 
nomena are  due  to  the  vital  union  of  body  and  soul,  and 
the  mysterious  power  of  the  former  over  the  latter ;  and 
are  the  result,  or,  at  least,  are  accompanied  by  peculiar, 
or  abnormal,  unnatural,  disturbed,  or  actually  diseased 
bodily  conditions. 

The  phenomena  of  hypnotism  in  all  probability  belong 
to  these  phenomena.  They  are  bound  together  with 
them  by  points  of  resemblance.  The  hypnotic  state  is 
often  spoken  of  as  a  sleep,  and  a  trance  into  which  one 
falls,  or  is  put,  and  from  which  one  awakens;  and,  more- 
over, like  the  striking  ones,  which  we  have  described,  it 
is  always  in  connection  with  some  peculiar,  abnormal,  or 
more  or  less  diseased  bodily  condition.  There  is  need 
of  a  certain  condition,  or  temperament  of  the  body  on 
the  part  of  the  medium  ;  some  temperaments  being  ex- 
ceedingly favorable,  and  predisposing,  and  some  alto- 
gether unfit.  And  the  same  is  the  case  in  regard  to  the 
patient  operated  upon ;  some,  because  of  bodily  tempera- 
ment, may  be  easily  and  quickly  hypnotized;  and  others 
only  with  difificulty  and  with  much  longer  continued 
effort,  and  work.  And  the  same  persons  are  at  times  in 
7 


98  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

SubsConsciousness  /iBaterlallsttc 


far  better  condition  for  the  experience  than  at  other 
times,  according  to  their  physical  condition.  With  these 
facts  before  us,  and  with  the  long  list  of  striking  spiritual 
phenomena  produced  by,  or  dependent  upon  the  peculiar 
condition  of  the  body,  we  must  refer  the  phenomena 
of  hypnotism,  etc.,  to  the  vital  union  of  the  body  and 
soul,  and  to  the  more,  or  less  abnormal,  or  diseased 
bodily  afifections.  We  certainly  must  do  this,  rather 
than  make  the  extraordinary  supposition  of  a  double 
Personality,  or  double  Consciousness,  or  a  sub-conscious 
activity,  all  of  which  are  inconceivable,  and  directly  op- 
posed to  the  positive  testimony  of  Consciousness  as  to 
Personal  U7iity. 

As  to  a  ^'^ Sub- Consciousness ''  the  great  objection,  in 
addition  to  being  inconceivable  and  opposed  to  the  unity 
of  our  spiritual  being  as  intuitively  known,  is  that  it 
seems  to  be  in  large  measure  materialistic.  The  activi- 
ties so  designated  are  apparently  performed  by  certain 
nerve  centres,  once  the  seat  of  consciousness,  but  from 
which  consciousness  has  withdrawn  in  whole  or  in  part. 
The  idea  is  closely  allied  to  the  doctrine  that  thought  is 
the  product  of  nerve,  or  brain  activity  and  work.  More- 
over, the  supposition  of  sub-conscious  activity  is  un- 
necessary when  we  bear  in  mind  known  facts.  The  great 
body  of  all  our  conscious  acts  immediately  pass  into 
complete  oblivion;  we  even  deliberately  do  a  thing  and 
have  no  remembrance  of  it  the  next  moment;  our  spirit- 
ual operations  have  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  "  quick  as 
thought"  is  proverbial;  men  saved  from  imminent  death, 
have  told  how  they  have  seen,  as  by  an  instant  flash,  their 
entire  past  life ;  women,  even  more  than  men,  take  in  a 
situation  of  complex  and  difficult  afifairs  and  come  to  a 
wise  and  true  conclusion  in  a  moment,  and  the  greater 
the  rapidity  the  less  is  the  memory  of  the  act.  It  is  also 
known  that  the  more  habitual  an  act  becomes,  the  less  is 


Ill  DOUBLE  PERSONALITY  99 

■RapiD  ^bouQbt  "ffnattention 


it  remembered.  Every  word  spoken  is  an  intelligent, 
voluntary  act,  yet  we  cannot  recall  them.  A  young  girl 
will  pour  forth  a  volume  of  words  with  astounding  rapid- 
ity and  accuracy,  beautifully-expressed  English,  but  is 
utterly  unable  to  repeat  them  the  moment  they  have  been 
uttered.  With  pen  in  hand  we  may  write,  with  fast 
vibrating  motions,  our  own  uprising  thoughts,  or  from 
the  printed  page  before  us ;  every  stroke  of  the  pen  is 
the  result  of  a  complicated  mental  operation,  as  to  the 
individual  acts  of  which  we  are  profoundly  heedless.  We 
perceive  the  printing,  discern  the  thought,  select  the 
corresponding  written  characters,  direct  the  muscles  of 
arm  and  hand  in  forming  them  with  pen,  which  we  re- 
supply  with  ink  as  we  perceive  it  needs  it ;  and  so  cor- 
rectly is  all  this  done,  that  the  written  words  are  a  per- 
fect reproduction  of  the  printed.  So  little  attention  is 
given  to  the  acts  performed,  that  they  make  no  impres- 
sion upon  us.  The  greater  the  attention,  the  more  clear 
and  prolonged  is  our  consciousness.  It  is  by  giving 
strict  attention  that  we  impress  things  upon  our  mem- 
ory.     With  no  attention  all  is  oblivious. 

There  are  great  departments  of  our  being,  to  which  at 
times  we  give  no  attention,  and  of  which  we  are  then 
forgetful.  But  we  recall  them  by  directing  our  attention 
to  them.  This  is  the  case  with  Memory.  We  have  stores 
of  knowledge  of  history,  geography,  astronomy,  etc.,  but 
we  do  not  think  of  them  at  all  times.  We  become  con- 
scious of  them  by  attention. 

With  these  striking  facts  at  hand,  the  rapidity  of  our 
thoughts,  so  rapid  oft-times  that  like  the  wings  of  the 
humming  bird,  we  perceive  them  not — the  irrevocable 
oblivion  into  which  the  vast  majority  of  our  acts  are  con- 
tinually falling, — the  need  of  attention  to  retain  any  of 
them — the  recovery  of  great  stores  of  knowledge  and  of 
forgotten   past   acts   by  attention  directed  to  them — in 


100  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

"GlnnecDeD 


these  facts  we  have  abundant  explanation  of  the  so  called 
sub-conscious  activities,  without  referring  them  to  the 
automatic  operation  of  certain  nerve,  or  brain  centres, 
thus  endowing  matter  and  material  force  with  attributes 
and  activities  which  are  spiritual.  The  apparent  sub- 
consciousness should  be  referred  to  the  rapidity  of 
thought,  which  makes  us  heedless  of  the  mental  opera- 
tion ;  or  to  the  fact  that  we  give  no  attention  to  it  and 
hence  have  no  memory  of  it.  There  may  readily  be 
mental  activities  which  are  of  such  a  feeble  and  indefinite 
character  that  we  have  never  heeded  them  at  all.  Indeed 
we  often  do  things  without  thinking  what  we  are  doing, 
as  in  absent-mindedness.  The  act  is  a  true  voluntary 
one,  but  we  are  so  occupied  with  something  else  that  we 
give  it  no  attention,  and  instantly  forget  it. 

Memory  itself  may  be  simply  a  retaining  of  vast  stores 
of  knowledge  by  mental  activities  of  which  we  are  obliv- 
ious, because  we  are  so  occupied  with  other  things,  that 
we  heed  them  not,  or  because  the  activities  are  so  slight 
that  they  attract  no  attention,  and  hence  fade  away  from 
memory,  as  do  the  acts  of  the  absent-minded  man.  But 
they  spring  into  activity  and  vividness  of  recollection 
when  we  attend  to  them.  They  are  forgotten  conscious, 
voluntary  activities,  which  we  are  able  to  recall. 

A  special  sub-conscious  activity  is  no  more  needed  for 
the  phenomena,  which  are  attributed  to  it,  than  it  is 
needed  for  the  acts  of  the  absent-minded  one,  or  for  the 
rapid  flow  of  speech  of  the  young  girl,  or  for  the  unre- 
membered  dreams  of  our  sleeping  moments. 

Thus,  a  Double  Personalty,  and  Double  Consciousness, 
in  addition  to  what  has  already  been  said,  are  evidently 
unnecessary.  The  phenomena  referred  to  them  may 
readily  be  explained  by  the  way  in  which  attention  may 
be  directed  to  mental  activities,  or  departments  of  our 
spiritual  being,  to  which  we  ordinarily  give  no  heed,  for 


ra  DOUBLE  PERSONALITY  loi 

2  power  of  Spirit  over  Spirit 


reasons  such  as  just  mentioned.  When  these  come  to 
light,  it  is  not  the  appearing  of  a  second  PersonaHty,  or 
Consciousness,  but  the  revelation  of  that  to  which  we 
have  been  giving  no  heed,  and  the  doing  of  that  which  is 
forgotten  afterwards,  as  dreams  are  when  we  wake. 

The  Second  Element  in  the  probably  true  explanation 
of  hypnotism,  etc.,  which  we  have  mentioned,  is  the  direct 
power  which  one  mind,  or  spirit,  has  over  another.  Of 
this  there  can  be  no  doubt;  and  the  power  may  be  far 
greater  and  deeper  than  we  suspect,  and  hypnotism,  etc., 
may  be  simply  the  revelation  of  the  fact.  We  are  always 
influencing  one  another ;  some  rule  others  at  pleasure. 
By  simple  act  of  will  we  control,  and  direct  that  which  is 
material,  as  the  nerve-force,  and  limbs  of  our  body;  and 
the  well  founded  supposition  is  that  we  also  may,  and  do 
direct,  and  control  that,  which  is  spiritual,  by  mere  will 
power.  We  will,  and  the  soul  of  another  responds,  and 
obeys,  and  receives  a  permanent  impress. 

In  the  case  of  the  treatment  and  cure  of  cigarettism, 
alcoholism,  opiumism,  etc.,  the  operator  does  for  the 
individual,  during  the  hypnotic  sleep,  that  which  the 
victim  of  these  habits  ought  to  do  for  himself,  by  self- 
discipline  and  training,  but  which  he  does  not  and  will 
not  do.  He  has  built  up  for  himself  a  bad  character  and 
acts  accordingly.  By  means  of  suggestion  and  direct 
will-power,  the  operator  fashions  the  character  of  the 
patient,  which  abides  after  the  hypnotic  sleep  has  passed, 
and  determines  his  future  conduct,  though  the  hypnotic 
experience  is  itself  forgotten  as  a  dream. 

The  only  excuse  for  the  use  of  the  words  "  Double 
Personality,"  "Double  Consciousness"  and  "Sub- 
conscious activity"  is,  that  these  terms  may  be  employed 
in  a  secondary  and  indefinite  sense,  more  or  less  figura- 
tively. This,  however,  is  confusing  and  misleading,  inti- 
mating, and  possibly  understood   as  affirming,   that,  in 


I02  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

proofs  I  1Fn5e0tructlblc 


some  mysterious  way,  we  are  each  two  Persons,  and  have 
two  different  consciousnesses,  which  is  contradicted  by 
the  Personal  Unity  of  which  all  men  are  intuitively  as- 
sured. 

Thus  knowing,  from  Intuitive  Cognition,  that  such  is 
our  Being,  that  we  have  a  past,  present  and  future,  the 
question  here  naturally  arises,  have  we  any  assurance  in 
regard  to  immortality?  Are  we  to  live  forever,  or  is  our 
hope  of  life  hereafter  an  unproved  and  unfounded  suppo- 
sition and  anticipation?    What  answer  does  Science  give? 

Section  IV     Immortality 

Consciousness  can,  of  course,  give  us  no  direct  and 
positive  assurance  in  regard  to  the  length  of  our  con- 
tinuity of  being.  It  sees  only  that  which  now  is.  We 
have,  however,  various  well  founded  reasons  for  believ- 
ing in  our  Immortality.  These  are  of  such  a  character, 
that  they  may  be  regarded  as  proof  of  the  wonderful 
anticipation. 

Proof  I.  The  clear  and  positive  teaching  of  Divine 
Revelation.  This  has  the  force  of  scientific  proof,  in  so 
far  as  the  possibility,  and  the  reality  of  Divine  Revela- 
tion is  itself  a  truth  of  Science,  as  we  have  endeavored 
to  show  that  it  is. 

11.  From  Science.  This  teaches  the  conservation  of 
force,  and  the  indestructibility  of  matter.  No  force  has 
ever  been  lost,  and  no  atom  of  matter  has  ever  been  de- 
stroyed— there  is  as  much  force  now  as  ever,  and  as 
much  matter ;  and  so  it  will  ever  be.  This  is  the  con- 
fident assurance  of  Science.  There  is  also  a  spiritual 
substance  with  its  attributes,  or  forces.  This  is  as  cer- 
tain, as  that  there  is  a  material  substance,  and  its  forces. 
If  there  be  a  conservation  of  force  in  the  material,  there 
is  no  reason  why  there  is  not  the  same  persistence  of 
force    in    the    spiritual    substance ;    this    cannot    be    de- 


IV  IMMORTALITY  103 

2  annibilatfon  Tllntblnftable 


stroyed.  And  if  the  material  substance  remain  forever, 
there  can  be  no  reason  given,  why  the  spiritual  should 
not  also.  Indeed,  in  as  much  as  the  spiritual  is  the 
superior,  an  ever-abiding  nature  must  be  all  the  more 
assuredly  attributed  to  it,  since  this  belongs  to  the  in- 
ferior, material  substance.  This  seems  to  be  a  very 
strong  proof  of  the  ever-abiding  nature  of  the  spiritual ; 
and  this  proves  personal  immortality,  in  as  much  as  the 
spiritual  substance  exists  only  as  individual  entities,  or 
persons. 

2.  Annihilation  is  unthinkable.  We  cannot  conceive 
of  that  which  has  being,  as  going  out  of  being ;  of  some- 
thing becoming  nothing.  We  can  no  more  conceive  of 
this,  than  we  can  of  something  coming  out  of  nothing. 
As  far  as  we  can  have  any  conception  of  it,  being  has  an 
ever-abiding  persistence.  But  the  spiritual  substance,  or 
person  is  a  real  being,  and  hence  its  becoming  nothing 
is  unthinkable.  It  must  abide  forever.  It  came  into  be- 
ing by  the  act  of  the  Creator,  and  it  abides  unless  He 
destroys  it.  And  it  seems  impossible,  that  He  should 
destroy  it,  Life  here  is  so  brief;  in  innumerable  cases  it 
is  only  for  a  few  hours,  or  minutes  even.  To  destroy  it 
would  be  bringing  into  being  simply  to  take  away  being. 

Scientifically  both  the  material,  and  the  spiritual  sub- 
stances, and  forces  must  abide  forever — they  cannot  of 
themselves  cease  to  be.  They  cannot  pass  into  nothing. 
If  they  cease  to  be,  they  must  be  destroyed  by  the  de- 
liberate act  of  the  Creator. 

Such  act  is  not  unthinkable.  God  is  the  source,  and 
the  support  of  all  being,  and  it  is  conceivable  that  the 
being,  He  once  imparted,  may,  as  it  were,  be  taken  back 
into  Himself.  This  would  not  be  a  something  becoming 
nothing. 

3,  The  Analogy  of  Nature.  The  law  and  order  of 
Nature  are  that  every  thing  has  its  own  proper  time  for 


104  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec. 

3  BnaloflB  4  IRcUglon 


development,  and  for  maturity.  According  to  this  law 
scientists  affirm,  that  the  time  of  human  life  should  be 
about  one  hundred  years.  This,  however,  is  true  only 
of  the  body.  Such  are  the  powers  and  capacities  of  the 
soul,  that  a  far  greater  time  is  needed  for  their  develop- 
ment, and  maturity.  Indeed  it  seems  to  be  impossible 
to  set  any  limit  to  the  development  of  the  human  soul; 
it  has  unbounded  capacity  for  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge and  for  the  activity  of  all  its  powers.  According  to 
the  above  law  and  order,  therefore,  it  should  live  far  be- 
yond the  time  limit  of  the  body,  and  on  to  the  indefinite 
future. 

4.  The  Religious  Nature  of  man.  This  is  as  real  and 
abiding  a  characteristic  of  human  nature  as  any  other. 
It  has  distinguished  men  throughout  all  generations ;  it 
is  inseparably  interwoven  with  all  stages  of  human  so- 
ciety.    Mankind  has  believed  in  and  worshipped  God. 

But  an  essential  element  in  religion  is  the  unseen 
spiritual  world,  and  the  life  beyond.  This  comes  forth 
very  evidently  in  all  degrees  of  religion,  except  perhaps 
in  the  very  lowest ;  but  even  there  it  is,  only  it  is  unde- 
veloped. 

So  far  then  as  this  element  of  human  nature  corre- 
sponds with  reality,  and  men  have  not  ever  acted  upon  a 
falsehood,  we  have  in  it  a  proof  of  immortality.  This 
characteristic  of  mankind  is  a  fact,  and  its  explanation 
must  be  that  God  has  so  revealed  Himself  in  Nature,  and 
has  so  constructed  the  human  soul  to  perceive  such  reve- 
lation, that  men  without  reasoning  about  it,  without 
thought,  or  care  on  their  part,  have  ever  seen  and  be- 
lieved, just  as  children  take  in  a  thousand  things  without 
any  effort  or  purpose.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  relig- 
ious characteristic  is  the  strongest  in  childhood,  when  as 
yet  reasoning  has  not  arisen  to  interfere  with  spontan- 
eous perception  of  truth.     When    men  open  their  eyes 


IV  IMMORTALITY  105 

5  Conscience 


and  see  the  things  that  are,  they  are  realists  and  relig- 
ious, believing  in  the  spiritual  and  divine ;  it  is  only  when 
they  begin  to  rely  upon  reason,  rather  than  upon  sight, 
that  they  become  idealists  and  infidels. 

This  is  the  case — mankind  have  ever  been  religious — 
the  only  explanation  of  this  is  that  men  have  seen  a  reve- 
lation, which  God  has  given  of  Himself — the  faith  of  men 
in  God  is  as  well  founded,  as  it  is  universal,  and  as  relig- 
ion includes  the  life  hereafter,  we  have  in  its  well-founded 
and  universal  prevalence  a  proof  of  immortality. 

5.  Conscience.  This  is  an  indisputable  faculty  of  man. 
He  perceives  right  and  wrong,  that  right  deserves  re- 
ward, and  wrong  deserves  punishment;  when  he  does 
right,  he  feels  a  pleasurable  approval ;  when  he  does 
wrong  he  feels  painfully  condemned.  Over  all  this  he 
has  no  control.  Here  again  we  have  a  fact,  which  must 
be  recognized  and  explained.  With  one  accord,  men 
have  explained  it,  by  saying  it  is  the  voice  of  God, 
though  the  language  employed  in  so  doing  may  vary 
greatly.  The  reason  why  they  have  so  regarded  it,  is 
because  they  perceive,  or  cognize  its  nature.  It  neces- 
sarily refers  to  a  higher  and  unseen  power,  which  con- 
trols them.  This  is  the  fact  which  men  take  knowledge 
of,  and  the  fact  remains,  whatever  explanation  may  be 
given  of  it. 

There  is  no  need  of  supposing,  that  in  it  there  is  any- 
thing supernatural.  It  is  equally  the  voice  of  God, 
whether  He  speaks  directly,  or  in  the  most  indirect  man- 
ner, through  complex  secondary  causes.  The  plain  truth 
is,  that  there  is  right  and  wrong ;  men  perceive  these, 
and  that  they  must  refer  them  to  a  higher  and  unseen 
power,  or  being.  Without  such  reference  right  and 
wrong,  with  their  reward  and  punishment,  have  and  can 
have  no  meaning,  no  existence.  But  in  this  is  involved 
the  life-hereafter,  as  men  universally  acknowledge ;  and 


io6  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sbc 

Conscience  ©art  of  TRellgion 


which  is  the  more  evident,  because  in  the  present  life 
the  right  does  not  prevail  as  it  should,  and  rewards  and 
punishments  are  not  experienced  according  as  they  are 
deserved.  There  must  be  a  life  hereafter,  when  all  will  be 
properly  adjusted. 

This  argument  from  Conscience  is  closely  connected 
with  that  from  the  Religious  Nature  of  man.  Not  only 
because  Conscience  is  a  large  part  of  Religion,  but  also 
because  they  are  both  derived  from  and  dependent  upon 
the  knowledge  of  God.  Man  has  such  power  of  percep- 
tion, and  God  has  so  revealed  Himself,  that  men  perceive 
the  revelation.  Knowing  that  God  is,  they  reverence 
and  worship  Him ;  hence  Religion,  actually  and  prac- 
tically. Without  such  knowledge  there  would  be  no 
religion.  So  also,  knowing  that  God  is,  they  desire  His 
favor,  and  fear  His  wrath,  as  their  Supreme  Ruler.  They 
seek  His  favor,  which  is  life,  and  avoid  His  wrath,  which 
is  death,  by  obedience  to  His  Will.  His  Will  and  His 
Nature,  therefore,  are  the  standard  of  right  and  wrong. 
Hence  Conscience  with  its  knowledge  of  right  and 
wrong,  and  with  its  peace  and  sting,  according  as  obe- 
dience is,  or  is  not  rendered :  without  belief  in  God  there 
is  no  Conscience  in  men,  except  that  which  may  be 
called  social  conscience.  This,  however,  is  only  sec- 
ondary, and,  apart  from  the  true  Conscience,  an  inferior, 
mean  thing.  In  it  man  and  man's  will  take  the  place  of 
God  and  God's  Will ;  and  the  favor  and  displeasure  of 
men  give  the  peace  and  the  discomfort  which  accom- 
pany obedience  and  disobedience  to  their  wishes,  will, 
rules,  etc. 

It  may  not  be  objected  to  the  force  of  these  two  argu- 
ments, that  a  future  life  is  not  necessarily  involved  in 
Religion  and  Conscience — that  men  might  know  and 
worship  God  now  and  here,  without  having  any  here- 
after ;  and  that  in  the  present  world  without  any  refer- 


IV  IMMORTALITY  107 

6  aspirations  of  Soul 


ence  to  another  they  might  desire  God's  favor,  and  fear 
His  wrath  and  seek  to  please  Him  by  obedience  to  His 
Will.  Such  supposition  is  only  a  theoretical  possibility. 
It  does  not  accord  with  the  real  facts  of  the  case.  In 
the  minds  of  men  Religion  and  Conscience  have  always 
been  associated  with  the  thought  of  the  hereafter,  and  it 
is  this,  which  gives  them  their  reality,  value  and  power. 
Practical  experience  shows  that  as  the  assurance  of  a 
future  life  declines,  both  Religion  and  Conscience  decline 
also. 

6.  The  Aspirations  of  the  human  soul.  These  go  out 
to  the  boundless  future,  and  to  the  living  God.  This  is 
another  indisputable  fact  which  must  be  recognized  and 
explained.  The  explanation  is  that  it  is  due  to  constitu- 
tion, the  structure,  the  nature  of  the  human  soul.  In 
seed  germination  the  rootlet  turns  downward,  the  stem 
upward ;  plants  turn  towards  the  sun,  or  are  drawn  by 
it,  fish,  birds  and  beast  associate  themselves  together 
after  their  kind ;  in  pairing  season  birds  seek  their 
mates,  as  also  do  the  beasts  of  the  earth.  All  this  is  be- 
cause such  is  the  constitution,  structure,  nature  of  these 
living  creatures.  It  is  just  as  true  that  because  of  its 
nature  the  human  soul  aspires  after  God  and  the  bound- 
less future.  Without  these  it  feels  dissatisfied,  imperfect, 
unmated.  It  cannot  be  denied,  that  this  is  the  nature 
and  the  outgoing  of  the  soul,  and  hence  is  a  proof  of  the 
future  life.  Otherwise  our  soul  is  an  anomaly,  a  mis- 
construction, an  unfit  thing,  a  falsehood.  Fish  and 
ships  are  a  proof  that  there  is  water,  birds  that  there  is 
an  atmosphere,  air-breathing  animals  that  there  is  air; 
these  are  made,  and  constructed  for  their  respective 
elements.  And  so  the  human  soul,  made  and  con- 
structed for  God  and  the  hereafter,  in  which  alone  it 
finds  its  complement,  is  proof  of  these. 

7.  The  Intrinsic  Worth  of  the  Soul,  and  the  failures  of 


io8  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sbc 

7  "QDlortb  ot  tbc  Soul  anO  3f  allures 


the  present  life.  It  must  be  granted,  that  the  soul  of 
man  is  the  highest,  and  the  most  worthy  thing  in  the 
world;  all  things  else  are  for  it.  But  notwithstanding 
this,  in  multitudes  of  cases,  this  life's  experience  is  of  the 
most  unsatisfactory  character.  Innumerable  multitudes 
are  still-born,  multitudes  die  within  a  few  hours,  or  days 
of  birth ;  yet  other  multitudes  die  within  the  first,  or 
second  year  of  infancy;  yet  other  multitudes  in  early 
childhood ;  all  of  these  have  failed  to  come  to  the  full 
consciousness  even  of  what  they  are ;  and  all  this  is  re- 
peated unceasingly  as  the  years  go  by.  Add  to  these 
the  innumerable  number  of  those  who  die  at  the  open- 
ing of  manhood  and  womanhood,  and  of  those,  who  are 
cut  ofif  in  the  full  activity  of  their  maturity.  And  to 
these  add  the  multitudes  whose  life  has  been  a  failure;  a 
life  full  of  disappointments,  and  bitterness,  and  consider 
that  this  is  the  abiding  condition  of  the  world  from  age 
to  age. 

Man's  experience  here  is  out  of  harmony  with  what 
man  is  in  his  own  real  worth.  It  would  seem  that  all 
this  would  be  impossible  unless  there  be  an  hereafter. 
When  we  take  into  consideration  the  superior  excellence, 
the  dignity,  the  worth  of  every  individual  human  being, 
and  that  each  one  is  brought  into  being  by  the  creating 
act  of  God,  the  only  explanation  of  the  lamentable 
character  of  human  experience  is,  either  that  this  is  a 
world  overthrown,  and  ruined  by  iniquity,  and  hopelessly 
left  to  perish  because  thereof,  or  that  there  is  another 
world,  where  human  life,  cut  short  here,  is  continued, 
and  man  has  an  environment  in  some  measure  corres- 
ponding to  his  own  inherent  superiority  and  worth. 

8.  There  is  a  Negative  proof.  No  well  founded 
objection  can  be  brought  against  the  supposition  of  the 
future  life.  It  is  vain  to  object  that  it  is  beyond  all 
human  experience,  as  it  must  necessarily  be  so ;  or  that 


IV  IMMORTALITY  109 

8  Negative  proof 


it  is  contrary  to  human  experience,  in  as  much  as  we 
know  only  of  life,  which  consists  in  the  vital  union  of 
soul  and  body,  and  if  that  be  destroyed  the  soul  must 
perish  equally  with  the  body.  The  body  perishes  be- 
cause it  is  an  organism,  made  out  of  existing  material, 
needing  continual  repair ;  it  grows  old,  and  more  and 
more  enfeebled,  and  is  sustained  by  its  vital  union  with 
the  soul.  But  it  is  not  thus  in  regard  to  the  soul.  It  is 
a  complete  unit  in  itself,  having  real  being,  not  made  out 
of  anything,  needing  and  receiving  no  repairs ;  unlike  the 
body,  which  perishes  by  disintegrating  and  passing  into 
the  separate  material  elements  out  of  which  it  was  con- 
structed, the  soul  can  perish  only  by  ceasing  to  be ;  being 
an  entity,  it  must  be  destroyed,  must  become  nothing, 
which  is  unthinkable.  Moreover,  the  soul  is  the  superior; 
it  sustains  the  body,  but  is  not  sustained  by  the  body. 
The  body  is  its  organ,  or  instrument,  and  there  is  no 
proof  that  its  being  is  dependent  upon  the  body. 
Because,  at  present,  all  spiritual  activity  includes  brain 
activity,  it  does  not  follow  that  there  can  be  no  spiritual 
life  and  activity  without  the  brain.  The  brain  acts  in  all 
spiritual  action,  because  of  the  vital  union  between  it  and 
the  soul,  but  when  that  union  ceases  the  brain  perishes, 
but  the  soul  may  continue  to  be,  and  to  act. 

To  show  the  utter  absurdity  of  the  objection  to  Im- 
mortality founded  on  the  alleged  necessity  of  brain 
activity  for  thought,  etc.,  we  quote  the  testimony  of 
two  eminent  physiologists.  In  the  "  Ingersoll  Lecture 
at  Harvard"  on  Human  Immortality,  Prof.  William 
James  says :  "  If  we  are  talking  of  Science  positively 
understood,  function  can  mean  nothing  more  than  bare 
concomitant  variation.  When  the  brain  activities  change 
in  one  way,  consciousness  changes  in  another;  when  the 
currents  pour  through  the  occipital  lobes,  consciousness 
sees  things ;  when  through  the  lower  frontal  region,  con- 


no  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

IProf .  James  (SluotcO  Contrast  wltb 


sciousness  says  things  to  itself;  when  they  stop,  she  goes 
to  sleep,  etc. 

In  strict  science,  we  can  only  write  down  the  bare  facts 
of  concomitance ;  and  all  talk  about  either  production,  or 
transmission,  as  to  mode  of  taking  place,  is  pure  super- 
added hypothesis,  and  metaphysical  hypothesis  at  that, 
for  we  can  frame  no  more  notion  of  the  details  on  the 
one  alternative  than  on  the  other.  Ask  for  any  indication 
of  the  exact  process  either  of  transmission,  or  of  produc- 
tion, and  Science  confesses  her  imagination  to  be  bank- 
rupt. She  has,  so  far,  not  the  least  glimmer  of  a  conjec- 
ture or  suggestion, — not  even  a  verbal  metaphor  or  pun 
to  offer.  Ignora7nus,  ignorabimus,  is  what  most  physio- 
logists, in  the  words  of  one  of  their  number,  will  say 
here.  The  production  of  such  a  thing  as  consciousness 
in  the  brain,  they  will  reply,  with  the  late  Berlin  profes- 
sor of  physiology,  is  the  absolute  world-enigma, — some- 
thing so  paradoxical  and  abnormal  as  to  be  a  stumbling 
block  to  Nature,  and  almost  a  self  contradiction.  Into 
the  mode  of  production  of  steam  in  a  tea-kettle,  we  have 
conjectural  insight,  for  the  terms  that  change  are  physic- 
ally homogeneous  one  with  another,  and  we  can  easily 
imagine  the  case  to  consist  of  nothing,  but  alterations  of 
molecular  motion.  But  in  the  production  of  conscious- 
ness by  the  brain,  the  terms  are  heterogeneous  natures 
altogether;  and,  as  far  as  our  understanding  goes,  it  is  as 
great  a  miracle  as  if  we  said — Thought  is  '  spontaneously 
generated,'  or  'created  out  of  nothing.'" 

This  testimony  is  true,  and  it  effectually  reduces  to  an 
absurdity  and  impossibility  the  objection  founded  on 
thought,  etc.,  as  a  function  of  the  brain  on  either  of  the 
two  hypotheses,  "production"  or  "transmission." 

In  striking  contrast  to  these,  the  view  we  maintain  is 
self-evidently  true  and  has  the  direct  testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness.    We  thus  know  that  the  soul  is  a  real  per- 


IV  IMMORTALITY  in 

ttrue  Wicw  9  Cumulattve 


sonal  entity,  that  it  is  vitally  united  with  the  body,  that 
the  body,  as  a  unit,  is  the  instrument  of  the  soul,  by 
means  of  which  it  is  brought  into  intercommunion,  or 
interaction  with  both  the  material  and  spiritual  universe. 
By  means  of  brain,  nerves,  muscles,  etc.,  it  cognizes  the 
material  world,  receives  influences  from  it,  and  works 
upon  it  its  will.  By  the  same  means  it  gives  outward 
expression  to  all  its  endless,  and  varied  thoughts,  emo- 
tions, wishes,  will,  and  holds  communion,  in  the  complete 
and  rapid  interchange  of  all  spiritual  experiences,  with 
its  fellow  beings. 

We  have  the  infallible  knowledge  of  this  instrumental 
use  of  the  body  by  our  true  self,  the  soul.  The  distinct 
testimony  of  Consciousness  is,  that  this  is  the  relation  of 
the  soul  to  the  body, — the  soul  is  a  superior  entity,  which 
uses  the  body,  as  its  instrument.  Here  we  have  an  in- 
dubitable fact,  known  and  recognized  by  all — a  fact  which 
precludes  the  possibility  that  the  soul,  with  its  imtnater- 
ial  being  and  attributes,  can  be  produced  by  the  brain, 
or  can  owe  the  continuation  of  its  entity  to  it. 

With  the  objection  from  brain  activity  thus  completely 
swept  away,  the  negative  argument  for  the  future  life  has 
great  weight.  Of  very  few  things  can  it  be  said,  as  in 
this  case,  that  every  thing  is  in  its  favor,  and  nothing 
against  it. 

9.  Cumulative.  It  is  a  fact  to  be  noted,  that  though 
any  one  of  these  proofs  may  be  insufficient,  their  cumu- 
lative power  seems  irresistible.  It  is  remarkable,  that  so 
readily  a  series  of  independent  proofs  of  Immortality 
may  be  given.  There  are  many  things,  which  we  accept 
upon  far  less  evidence,  and  we  would  without  hesitation 
regard  the  proof  of  Immortality  all  sufficient,  were  it  not 
for  its  own  wondrous  nature,  and  all  important  character. 

Inseparably  connected  with  the  Intuitive  Cognition, 
that  ours  is  an  essentially  unbroken  continuity  of  ongoing 


112  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  skc. 

Deep  jfffi>B0terB  TleeDless  amount 


Being,  is  the  question  as  to  Time.  With  this  is  associ- 
ated the  thought  of  Space.  In  ordinary  thought  and 
conversation  these  go  together.  Their  consideration, 
therefore,  here  naturally  arises. 

Section  V     Time 

The  idea  of  Time  has  presented  a  problem,  which  is 
difficult  and  mysterious,  and  which  has  called  forth  end- 
less disputation,  resulting  in  varied,  confused,  subtile 
opinions. 

Time  itself  is  a  profound,  impenetrable  mystery.  There 
has,  however,  been  a  needless  amount  of  mystery  thrown 
over  our  thought  of  it ;  and  confusion,  and  error  have 
arisen  from  the  wrong  way  of  considering  it,  and  from 
the  attempt  at  the  impossible. 

If  we  deal  with  it,  as  we  deal  with  other  mysteries, 
and  be  content  to  confine  ourselves  within  our  proper 
sphere  of  mental  activity,  we  may  readily  obtain  a  simple, 
clear,  true,  and  satisfactory  understanding  of  it.  We  do 
not  know  what  the  essence  of  the  soul  is,  nor  the  nature 
of  our  union  and  communion  with  God.  To  endeavor  to 
discern,  and  discuss  these,  would  involve  us  in  deepest 
perplexities,  and  would  destroy  the  simple  and  practical 
understanding,  which  v/e  have  of  the  soul,  and  of  our 
fellowship  with  the  Divine  Being.  So  also  we  cannot 
penetrate  into  the  essence  of  Matter,  and  of  material 
force.  We  can  form  no  conception  of  what  gravitation, 
and  electricity  are,  nor  how  plants,  and  animals  grow 
and  multiply.  Yet  we  have  a  simple,  and  practical 
knowledge  of  these,  and  of  kindred  things  innumerable, 
which  would  be  swept  away  by  attempted  insight  into 
the  hidden  depths  of  these  mysteries  themselves,  and  the 
way  in  which  they  subsist  in  the  great  Creator  and  Up- 
holder. Thus  also  we  do  not  know  what  Time,  nor  what 
Eternity  is,  nor  the  relation  of  these  to  one  another,  and 


TIME  113 

jfrom  Cognition  of  JSclng 


to  the  Infinite  Being  and  to  ourselves.  It  is  the  attempt 
to  penetrate  into,  and  lay  hold  of  these  that  has  plunged 
man  into  confusion,  and  subtilties,  and  surprising  errors, 
when  the  simple  and  practical  knowledge  of  them  was  as 
readily  at  hand,  as  in  regard  to  the  other  things,  which 
we  have  mentioned. 

Our  primary  idea  of  Time  comes  directly  from  the 
Cognitio7i  of  our  own  being.  "  I  am,  I  continue,"  This 
is  perfectly  plain,  simple,  intelligible,  as  much  so  as  any 
other  simple  thought  which  we  have,  as  of  substance. 
force,  motion,  space,  matter,  spirit,  attribute,  the  world, 
ourselves,  God.  These  are,  and  we  know  them.  Time 
is,  and  we  know  it.  The  simple  idea  of  Time  is  "  con- 
tinued being,"  or  the  continuation  of  ongoing  being. 
We  express  this  by  the  word  "wait" — "I  wait."  We 
are  conscious  of  waiting.  We  perceive  our  thoughts,  or 
concepts,  as  they  come  and  go ;  we  note  the  new  ones, 
and  the  reappearing  of  those,  which  we  have  had  before. 
Thus  we  have  the  simple,  and  definite  idea  of  past,  pres- 
ent and  future.  As  Time  is  continued  being,  or  the  con- 
tinuation of  being,  it  is  inseparably  connected  with  being. 
We  cannot  think  of  Time  without  being,  nor  of  being 
without  Time.  This  is  not  because  Time  is  a  law,  or 
condition,  or  form  of  thought,  or  a  necessary  a  priori 
postulate,  or  any  metaphysical  subtilty.  But  the  reason 
is,  because  Time  is  an  aspect,  a  part,  a  constituent,  an 
element,  a  characteristic,  a  quality,  an  attribute  of  Being. 
In  knowing  "being"  we  know  it.  We  cannot  know 
"being"  without  thereby  knowing  it.  Time  constitutes 
the  very,  and  the  only  definition  which  we  give  of  "  be- 
ing." "Being"  is  that  which  is,  and  continues.  This  is 
the  definition  of  our  own  being,  "/  am,  I  continue;'^ 
that  is  I  am  now,  my  now  is  fading  into  the  past,  and  is 
realizing  the  future.  If  being  is  real,  time  is  real, — if 
being  is  imaginary,  time  is  imaginary ; — if  there  is  no  be- 
8 


114  ni     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Hts  IReallts  attribute  of  JBcing 


ing,  there  is,  and  there  can  be  no  time,  for  Time  is  an 
element,  aspect,  characteristic,  quahty,  attribute  of  Being, 
and  otherwise  has  no  reahty;  it  is  not.  It  stands  related 
to  "  being  "  exactly  as  thought,  feeling,  will  stand  related 
to  spirit,  and  as  figure,  extension,  motion  do  to  material 
objects.  We  know  the  former  in  knowing  spirit,  or 
spirit  in  knowing  them.  We  know  the  latter  in  know- 
ing material  objects,  and  they  are  not,  without  these 
objects.  So  also  with  Time  and  Being.  We  know  the 
one  in  knowing  the  other,  and  the  one  is  not  without  the 
other,  and  we  have  as  definite  an  idea  of  Time,  as  we 
have  of  these  other  things.  There  is  no  more  mystery 
in  one  case,  than  in  the  other.  We  know  just  as  well 
what  Time  is,  as  we  know  what  thought,  feeling,  will, 
figure,  motion  in  themselves  are,  or  we  know  these  no 
better  than  we  know  what  Time  is. 

We  cannot  think  of  ourselves,  nor  of  anything  without 
the  thought  of  Time,  and  we  cannot  have  the  thought  of 
'^No  Time.""  As  far  as  we  are  able  to  conceive,  we  must 
conceive  of  Time.  We  cannot  help  thinking  of  it  as 
stretching  backward  boundlessly  into  the  past  and  as 
reaching  forward  boundlessly  into  the  future.  For  Time 
to  be  no  more  is  for  us  unthinkable.  This  has  been  re- 
garded as  among  the  most  profound  mysteries,  and  the 
most  acute  and  subtile  thought  has  been  expended  upon 
it,  in  the  effort  to  understand  and  explain  it;  and  the 
suggestions  made  have  been  often  exceedingly  erroneous. 
In  truth  the  mystery  here  is  no  greater,  than  that  which 
rests  upon  other  things  with  which  we  have  to  do,  and 
the  simple  explanation  is  at  hand,  just  as  it  is  in  regard 
to  other  things;  the  same  principle  of  explanation  ap- 
plies to  it  and  to  these  alike. 

There  are  two  evident,  and  all-suliicient  reasons  why 
we  must  think  of  Time  in  the  way  pointed  out.  The 
first  is  because  we  cannot  go  beyond  our  experience. 


TIME  115 

2  "Kcasong,  IMlbTS  ""Wo  ^ime"  is  "Clntblnftablc 


This  is  true  in  regard  to  every  thing.  The  foundation 
and  the  material  for  all  our  thoughts  are  from  experi- 
ence. Beyond  this  we  cannot  go  in  thought,  concept, 
imagination.  Were  we  as  a  fish,  or  some  deep-sea  creat- 
ure, which  had  never  come  to  the  surface,  nor  touched 
in  any  place  the  confines  of  ocean's  depths,  we  could 
conceive  of  no  other  sphere  than  that  of  water,  and  of  no 
life,  but  of  that  within  it.  And  no  thought  of  any  other 
could  be  communicated  to  us.  We  know  what  it  is  to 
be  a  living  soul  in  vital  union  with  a  living  body,  and 
what  it  is  to  live  in  this  material  world.  But  we  can 
form  no  possible  conception  of  a  disembodied  existence, 
nor  of  a  pure  spirit  life  in  a  purely  spiritual  world.  The 
only  concept,  which  we  can  form  of  the  world  above,  is 
such  as  we  construct  out  of  our  thoughts  of  this  world. 
We  are  compelled  to  think  of  it  as  some  fair  city,  or 
country  of  extreme  beauty,  with  verdure,  trees,  flowers. 
The  only  thought,  which  we  can  have  of  ourselves,  with 
kindred  and  friends  there,  is  that  of  shadowy  forms  of 
our  present  selves,  recognizing  one  another  as  we  do 
kere,  looking  into  one  another's  faces,  and  talking  and 
acting  as  we  do  now.  To  us  angels  are  but  exalted  men, 
and  we  cannot  altogether  escape  from  anthropomorphism 
in  our  thoughts  of  God.  We  attribute  to  Him  some 
fashion  as  of  a  man,  radiant  indeed,  too  bright  to  look 
upon,  but  still  with  human  form.  Our  Father,  with  loving 
face  and  outstretched  arms  and  hands.  Unless  by  great 
effort  we,  in  some  measure,  think  of  Him  as  like  our  own 
souls,  a  spirit  such  as  we  know  ourselves  to  be.  We 
can  have  no  idea  of  the  stars  except  as  worlds  like  our 
Earth.  They  shine  with  light  such  as  we  know,  and 
whether  nebulous,  or  solid,  their  structure  and  material 
must  be  the  same  as  that  with  which  we  are  here  ac- 
quainted, or  be  to  us  entirely  unknown.  We  can  form 
no  possible  conception  of  anything  else. 


ii6  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

I  "Reagon,  }6specicncc 


The  same  is  the  truth  in  regard  to  Time.  We  have  no 
experience  except  that  of  being  in  Time.  Beyond  this 
experience  we  cannot  go  in  thought,  just  as  in  the  cases 
mentioned  we  cannot  go  beyond  our  experience  of  them. 
All  else,  all  beyond  is  an  absolute  blank  and  impossibility 
for  us.  We  are  creatures  of  Time,  as  the  deep-sea  fish 
is  a  creature  of  the  ocean.  To  its  thought  the  only  pos- 
sible sphere  is  that  of  water ;  to  our  thought  the  only 
possible  realm  is  that  of  Time.  Confined  by  experience 
within  the  realm  of  Time,  with  no  conceivable  experience 
beyond  it,  we  cannot  think  of  ourselves  and  of  the  world 
except  as  in  Time.  And  as  all  beyond  our  experience  is 
a  blank  and  an  impossibility  to  thought,  it  must  be  thus 
in  regard  to  Time,  as  in  regard  to  everything  else. 
Hence  we  cannot  think  of  "No  Time;"  to  our  thought 
Time  must  be  boundless ;  there  can  be  nothing  before  it 
in  the  past, — nothing  beyond  it  in  the  future. 

There  is  no  peculiar  mystery  here.  This  is  the  old 
familiar  truth,  which  we  meet  everywhere.  We  know 
what  Time  is,  we  know  what  we  are  and  our  fellows  and 
the  things  of  the  world,  but  of  the  beyond  we  know 
nothing,  except  as  it  is  a  reproduction  of  the  things 
which  are.  The  world  to  come  must  be  to  our  thought 
such  as  this,  its  inhabitants  such  as  we  are,  its  life  and 
activity  such  as  the  present,  its  realm  such  as  that  which 
now  is,  that  of  Time. 

The  fact  to  be  noted  is,  that  in  regard  to  Time  we  no 
more  have  a  so-called  necessary  "form,"  or  "postulate," 
than  we  have  in  regard  to  everything  else.  It  is  a  simple 
matter  of  experience.  We  are  in  Time,  and  having  no 
experience  but  this,  we  can  form  no  other  thought. 

The  second  reason  why  we  think  of  Time  in  the  way 
pointed  out,  is  because  it  is  Inseparable  from  "Being." 

We  cannot  think  of  "Being"  without  thinking  of 
Time.     Time  is  a  reality,  as  truly  so,  and  in  the  same 


TIME  117 

2  lRea33n,  f  nssparable  from  Being 


sense  as  are  thought,  feeling,  voHtion,  figure,  motion. 
But  as  these  are  not  apart  from  that  to  which  they 
belong,  so  Time  is  not  apart  from  that  to  which  it 
belongs;  that  is  from  "Being,"  The  thought  of  the  one 
involves  the  thought  of  the  other.  It  is  by  knowing 
Being  that  we  know  Time.  It  is  by  thinking  of  Being 
that  we  think  of  Time,  and  by  thinking  of  Time  that  we 
think  of  Being. 

Hence  it  is  that  we  cannot  have  thought  of  any  reality, 
either  actual  or  imaginary,  without  including  the  idea  of 
Time.  We  cannot  attribute  "being"  to  ourselves,  we 
cannot  think  of  the  "I  am,"  of  our  friends,  of  our  fel- 
lows, of  animals,  of  God,  of  this  world,  of  the  next  as 
having  any  being,  without  the  idea  of  Time.  We  cannot 
think  of  any  sphere,  or  realm  beyond  Time  as  being  with- 
out thereby  attributing  Time  itself  to  it ;  the  effort  is 
self-destructive.  We  cannot  give  to  any  imaginary  per- 
son, thing,  world,  or  realm  imaginary  being  without 
thereby  giving  to  such  imaginary  Time. 

Here  we  have  the  simple,  plain  explanation  of  the  fact 
why  we  must  think  of  Time.  It  is  because  if  we  think 
at  all,  we  must  think  of  "  Being,"  of  our  own,  or  other 
being,  certainly  of  one,  or  both.  This  is  the  reason  why 
for  us,  it  is  unthinkable,  that  Time  is  not;  we  must 
think  of  "being"  if  we  think  at  all,  with  its  essential 
characteristic,  or  attribute  of  Time.  Here  also  is  the 
reason  why  in  our  thought  Time  is  boundless  in  the 
past,  and  in  the  future.  It  is  simply  because,  however 
far  thought,  or  imagination,  may  carry  us  in  either 
direction,  we  think,  or  imagine  some  reality  there ;  some 
world,  or  realm,  or  sphere,  the  Deity,  or  ourselves,  even 
if  we  are  only  there  as  on-lookers.  It  is  only  thus  that 
thought  and  imagination  can  bear  us  to  the  far  oflf 
beyond.  They  must  at  least  give  us  our  own  being 
there.     We  think  or  imagine  ourselves  as  going  outward 


ii8  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sic. 

Ztne  Bature  of  Zimc 


further  and  further.  And  with  this  thought,  or  imagery 
of  some  kind  of  reahty  there,  is  the  thought,  or  imagery 
of  Time,  the  essential  characteristic,  or  attribute  of  all 
"Being."  As  by  thought  and  imagination  we  cannot 
annihilate  our  own  being  and  all  being,  we  cannot  in 
thought,  nor  in  imagination  annihilate  Time. 

Hence  again  it  is  evident,  that  there  is  no  especial 
mystery  in  regard  to  our  thought  of  Time.  It  is  like 
our  thought  of  other  things.  We  must  think  of  their 
essential  characteristics  when  we  think  of  them ;  we 
must  think  of  Time  when  we  think  of  Being,  of  which  it 
is  the  characteristic ;  and  as  we  always  think  of  being 
when  we  think  at  all,  we  cannot  destroy  the  thought  of 
Time.  It  is  a  mere  question  of  non-contradiction.  We 
cannot  think  of  Time  without  thinking  of  it ;  or  we  can- 
not at  once  think  of  Time  and  not  think  of  it. 

Here  we  are  to  inquire,  what  is  the  True  Nature  of 
Time  itself?  Has  it  reality,  is  it  boundless,  without  be- 
ginning and  without  end,  must  it  of  necessity  be — is  it 
possible  for  Time  not  to  have  been,  and  for  Time  to  be 
no  more? 

By  attempting  the  impossible  and  by  disregarding 
simple  self-evident  truth,  men  have  here  fallen  into  great 
confusion  and  error. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  we  are  absolutely  confined 
within  the  finite,  and  cannot  penetrate  into  the  Infinite. 
First  of  all  we  must  draw  the  sharpest  distinction 
between  Eternity  and  Time.  The  former  belongs  to  the 
Infinite  and  of  it  we  can  form  no  conception  whatever. 
To  attempt  it  is  to  endeavor  to  pass  beyond  the  sphere 
of  our  mental  activity.  This  we  can  no  more  do  than 
the  fish  can  leave  its  watery  element  and  swim  through 
the  atmosphere,  or  than  a  bird  can  leave  its  sphere  and 
fly  through  the  outlying  ethereal  realm.  We  often 
speak  of  Eternity  in  the  terms  of  Time,  but  this  is  be- 


TIME  119 

"Mot  JEtcrnltg 


cause  we  can  do  no  better  on  account  of  the  limitation 
of  thought  and  speech;  just  as  for  the  same  reason  we 
often  speak  of  God  in  the  terms  of  man. 

Eternity  is  real  because  it  is  an  attribute  of  the  Infinite 
"Being"  of  God.  It  is  '^  being''  without  succession  and 
without  change,  and  without  limit.  All  of  these,  how- 
ever, are  negative  terms.  We  cannot,  moreover,  con- 
ceive the  relation  of  Eternity  to  Time,  nor  of  Time  to 
Eternity.  It  is  not  proper  to  say  that  Eternity  was  be- 
fore Time,  and  will  be  after  Time.  This  would  divide 
Eternity  into  a  past  and  future,  which  is  impossible. 
There  is  not  a  past  Eternity  and  a  future  Eternity. 
Time  is  more  like  a  dot  on  but  not  in  a  line  drawn  in 
the  form  of  a  circle.  Of  it  we  can  say  "it  is  there" — 
"it  is  not  there,"  while  the  unbroken  unity  of  the  circle 
remains.  There  is  the  same  entire  line  going  from  the 
dot  to  the  dot  and  beyond  in  either  direction  it  matters 
not  which.  This,  however,  does  not  enable  us  to  con- 
ceive the  relation  of  Eternity  to  Time,  but  it  may  help  to 
remove  an  erroneous  thought. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  Eternity  is  an  Eternal  Now,  no 
more  than  it  can  be  said  to  be  an  Eternal  Past,  or  an 
Eternal  Future.  It  is  as  much  the  one  as  it  is  the  others 
of  these.  It  is  not  all  the  past,  the  present  and  all  the 
future,  for  all  these  times  combined  would  be  but  an 
infinitesimal  point  in  regard  to  Eternity.  It  is  not  a 
blending  of  past,  present  and  future  into  a  Unity,  for 
these  elements  are  not  within  Eternity.  At  best  all  we 
can  do  is  to  say  Eternity  is  an  attribute  of  the  infinite 
"Being"  of  God — Eternity  is — Time  is. 

As  Eternity  is  real  for  the  reason  given,  so  Time  is 
real  for  a  like  reason.  It  is  the  Attribute  of  created 
being.  We  must  be  careful  not  to  attribute  to  Time  any 
characteristic  of  Eternity,  such  as  boundlessness,  saying 
that  it  is  without  beginning  and  without  end,  immeasur- 


120  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

an  attribute  ot  CreatcD  JBeins 


able,  necessary — that  it  is  impossible  for  "  Time "  not 
to  be. 

The  true  statement  is  that  Time  has  reahty  only  in 
connection  with  created  being.  With  God  alone  in 
Eternity,  Time  was  not.  Time  began  with  the  coming 
into  being  of  created  things,  spiritual  or  material.  It 
continues  while  they  are ;  with  their  annihilation  it  would 
end. 

It  is  measurable,  and  ever  has  a  definite  length,  though 
only  for  a  moment,  as  it  is  momentarily  increasing. 
From  its  beginning  at  first  creation  its  present  end  is 
always  onward.  Its  present  length  is  the  number  of 
millions  and  millions  of  ages  from  the  first  creation  to 
the  present  moment.  It  will  never  come  to  a  final  end 
if  immortality  be  the  portion  of  intelligent  beings,  or  if 
the  material  universe  ceases  not ;  otherwise  it  will. 

It  is  a  very  easy  thing  to  keep  within  the  bounds  of 
reason,  and  have  clear  and  definite  knowledge.  We  thus 
know  what  Time  is.  It  is  a  reality,  an  attribute  of  our 
"being."  This  gives  us  a  true  knowledge  of  Eternity — 
it  is  an  attribute  of  the  Infinite  Being  of  God.  Leaving 
this  veiled  within  the  impenetrable  mysteries  of  the  In- 
finite, we  know  that  Time  is  dependent  upon  and  com- 
mensurative  with  creation,  beginning  with  created  things 
and  continuing  while  they  endure,  with  an  ever  onward 
moving  end  and  coming  to  a  final  termination  only  if  all 
things  cease  to  be,  and  God,  clothed  upon  with  Eternity 
alone  is. 

With  the  thought  of  Time  is  intimately  associated  the 
thought  of  Space.  We  are  in  Time,  and  also  in  Space, 
both  spiritually  and  corporally. 

Section  VI     Space 

The  Problem  of  Space  resembles  very  closely  that  of 
Time,  and    the  same  confusion  and  mystery  have  been 


TIME  121 

f  Oea  of  Space  from  Coijnition 


thrown  over  it,  and  kindred  errors  have  been  entertained 
regarding  it.  Yet  the  same  plain  and  reasonable  way  of 
understanding  and  explaining  it  is  close  at  hand. 

We  think  and  we  are  obliged  to  think  of  Space  in 
much  the  same  way  in  which  we  think  of  Time,  and  for 
essentially  the  same  reasons.  Our  primary  idea  of  Space 
comes  from  our  Cognition  of  the  external,  material 
world,  and  of  ourselves  in  reference  to  other  persons  and 
things.  The  idea  is  a  perfectly  clear  and  definite  one,  as 
much  so  as  that  of  Time,  or  of  any  other  thing.  We 
have  that  cognition  by  visual  and  tactual  perception  of 
expansion  or  extension,  and  the  distance  apart  of  one 
thing  from  another,  with  the  motion  of  one  thing  nearer 
to  and  further  apart  from  another.  So  far  as  these 
things  are  real,  space  is  real,  and  so  far  as  they  are  imag- 
inary we  have  imaginary  space. 

Here  again  it  is  not  a  law,  a  form  or  postulate,  or  con- 
dition of  thought,  nor  any  subtilty  of  the  kind,  with  which 
we  have  to  do  in  thinking  of  Space,  but  a  simple  cog- 
nition of  that  which  is.  And  we  know  what  Space  is 
just  as  well  as  we  know  what  other  things  are,  such  as 
spirit,  matter,  essence,  substance,  thought,  force,  figure, 
time.  We  have  an  intuitive  cognition  of  all  these  things 
alike.  We  may  puzzle  and  weary  ourselves  in  the  effort 
to  conceive  what  essence  is,  or  what  substance  and  force 
are,  but  utterly  in  vain.  The  difficulty,  wearisomeness, 
and  fruitlessness  of  the  effort  are  fully  as  great,  when  we 
in  vain  puzzle  and  weary  ourselves  in  the  effort  to  con- 
ceive what  expansion,  length,  breadth,  thickness,  motion, 
distance  are.  Of  these  we  have  the  clearest  and  the 
most  definite  thought.  They  themselves  constitute  our 
knowledge  of  material  objects  and  of  the  material  world. 
We  know  these  objects  and  the  world  by  knowing  them. 
Take  them  away,  and  all  things,  the  entire  material  uni- 
verse is  utterly  and  immediately  annihilated,  and  neces- 


122  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sbc 

attribute  of  /Bbaterial  C^binge 


sarily  springs  immediately  into  being  again  the  moment 
these  are  restored.  They  and  the  world  are  inseparable 
— they  and  it  stand  and  fall  together,  as  characteristics, 
qualities,  attributes,  and  that  to  which  they  belong. 
They  are  the  concomitants,  the  qualities  or  attributes  of 
objects  and  of  the  world.  They  form  our  definition  of 
things  and  of  the  world,  and  without  them  we  can  give 
no  definition  of  these.  What  is  the  world  and  that  of 
which  it  is  made  up  or  contains?  It  is  that  which  has 
expansion,  length,  breadth,  thickness,  distance,  motion. 
There  can  be  no  actual  extension,  length,  breadth  and 
thickness  without  an  object  having  these.  Distance  is 
the  apartness,  or  the  expanse  between  definite  points  or 
parts  of  an  object,  or  between  different  objects;  there 
must  be  objects  for  this  to  be  actual.  Motion  is  the  in- 
creasing or  diminishing  of  the  expanse  between  two  ob- 
jects; there  must  be  objects  to  draw  near  or  go  further 
apart  from  one  another. 

One  object  alone  in  space  would  be  absolutely  still. 
All  motion  is  relative.  We  may  say  of  passengers  in 
a  railroad  car,  they  are  all  perfectly  still,  neither  hand 
nor  foot  moves;  of  a  watch  in  the  car,  it  has  stopped. 
I  open  the  case,  there  is  no  motion  within,  yet  all 
are  moving  perhaps  at  the  speed  of  sixty  miles  per 
hour.  We  may  say  of  the  Pyramids,  they  have  re- 
mained motionless  for  thousands  of  years,  yet  they  are 
moving  with  the  velocity  of  Earth's  revolution  around 
the  Sun. 

So  true  is  it  that  objects  are  necessary  for  Space  that 
Space  without  them  is  unthinkable  and  impossible.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  we  can  have  the  thought  of 
absolutely  pure  and  empty  Space.  The  attempt  shows 
its  own  futility.  The  moment  we  make  the  attempt,  we 
must  suppose  some  object,  or  point  from  which  as  from 
a  centre  illimitable  distances  stretch  forth  in  every  direc- 


VI  SPACE  123 

IRo  Space  apart  trom  ©bjecte 


tion ;  but  direction  itself  implies  things,  an  upward,  and 
a  downward,  to  this  side  and  to  that,  in  this  way  and 
that  way  and  every  way.  There  must  be  a  something 
from  which  these  radiate,  and  in  reference  to  which  they 
each  have  their  own  peculiar  direction.  The  very  idea 
of  boundlessness  is  that  of  greater  and  yet  greater  dis- 
tances, ever  onward  further  and  further  away  from  some 
thing,  at  the  least  a  centre  of  a  sphere.  We  cannot 
think  of  great  distances  from  nothing  in  one  direction  to 
nothing  in  another.  These  opposite  directions  imply  an 
intermediate  point,  or  object;  and  from  nothing  to  noth- 
ing is  nothing.  In  dealing  only  with  zero  in  arithmetic 
the  result  is  ever  zero.  Annihilate  the  one  objective 
point  or  object,  the  centre  of  the  sphere  and  all  is  ob- 
livion. 

We  cannot  think  of  pure  space  beyond  the  material 
universe  for  the  material  universe  would  thereby  be  made 
the  object,  around  which  as  a  centre  the  outspreading 
space  would  spread  in  every  direction,  and  from  which 
its  remote  regions  would  be  further  and  further  away,  as 
thought  endeavored  to  penetrate  them  ;  and  the  remotest 
regions  would  themselves  be  an  objective  point  from 
which  regions  yet  more  distant  extend. 

Thus  the  attempt  itself  shows  that  we  cannot  eliminate 
the  thought  of  some  thing,  or  object  from  the  thought 
of  space.  To  think  of  objects  is  to  think  of  space,  and 
to  think  of  space  is  to  think  of  objects.  We  may,  of 
course,  think  of  empty  spaces.  This  is  a  most  familiar 
fact.  There  may  be  nothing  between  two  objects.  This, 
however,  is  altogether  different  from  that  of  which  we 
have  been  speaking. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  idea  of  Space,  here 
presented,  as  the  expanse  in  length,  breadth  and  thick- 
ness of  material  things,  and  expanse  between  different 
parts  of  these  and  between  different  things,  appears  in 


124  ni     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Abodaic  Bccount  '(KHe  tinovo  Space 

the  Mosaic  account  of  Creation  in  a  very  clear  and  defi- 
nite manner.  God  created  the  original,  single,  far 
spreading  Nebula,  with  its  length,  breadth,  and  thick- 
ness. This  is  called  "  waters,"  that  is  an  ethereal  fluid, 
or  nebula.  "  God  said  Let  there  be  an  expanse  in  the 
midst  of  the  waters,  and  let  it  divide  the  waters  from  the 
waters,  and  God  made  the  "expanse,"  and  divided  the 
waters  which  were  under  the  expanse  from  the  waters 
which  were  above  the  expanse,  and  it  was  so,  and  God 
called  the  expanse,  heaven."  Thtis  God  made  Space. 
The  expanse  of  bodies,  the  interstellar  spaces,  the  space 
separating  our  Earth  from  the  worlds  above  and  around 
us. 

Thus  it  appears  that  there  is  no  peculiar  mystery  rest- 
ing upon  the  idea  of  Space.  Equally  with  other  things, 
we  have  a  definite  knowledge  of  it.  We  know  the  thing 
itself.  It  is  inseparable  from  material  objects,  of  which 
it  is  the  characteristic,  property,  quality  or  attribute. 

As  we  cannot  help  thinking  of  Time,  so  also  we  cannot 
help  thinking  of  Space.  We  must,  moreover,  think  of  it 
as  boundless,  without  beginning  and  without  end.  We 
cannot  annihilate  Space  in  thought.  To  our  thought  it 
must  always  have  been,  and  evermore  must  be.  This 
also  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  profound  of 
mysteries,  and  for  this  as  for  our  thought  of  Time,  all 
manner  of  subtile  reasons,  have  been  suggested  with 
attendant  confusion  and  mistake.  The  explanation  is  at 
hand,  is  perfectly  clear  and  satisfactory,  and  is  the  same 
as  that  already  given  in  regard  to  Time. 

The  explanation  is  twofold.  We  cannot  go  beyond 
the  range  of  our  experience.  We  are  creatures  of  Space. 
We  were  born  in  Space,  we  have  lived  within  it,  and 
have  never  had  another  kind  of  experience.  We  have  no 
knowledge  and  can  form  no  possible  conception  of  any 
other  kind  or  mode  of  existence.     We  know  of  no  other 


VI  SPACE  125 

"Wcccesacs  ^bougbt  XTwo  IRcasons 

realm  or  sphere  of  being,  and  consequently  all  else  but 
the  realm  of  Space  must  be  to  us  an  absolute  blank.  No 
idea  of  any  other  sphere  could  be  communicated  to  our 
mind  ;  any  revelation  of  it  must  necessarily  be  after  the 
analogy,  and  in  the  terms  of  expression  of  the  present 
world  in  which  we  live.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  there 
can  be  any  knowledge  given  to  us  even  of  the  abode  of 
God.  Moreover,  because  of  the  vital  union  of  soul  and 
body,  we  cannot  help  thinking  of  our  bodies  as  part  of 
ourselves.  A  bright  little  boy  said,  on  looking  upon  the 
dead  body  of  his  father,  "  I  wish  God  had  taken  all  of 
my  father  to  heaven."  According  to  the  constitution  of 
human  nature,  the  body  is  something  more  than  a  mere 
garment  to  be  worn  and  then  forever  cast  aside  as  use- 
less. It  is,  as  the  little  child  thought,  a  part  of  our- 
selves; it  is  essential  for  the  complete  fulness  and  well- 
being  of  us  men.  Hence  the  promise  of  the  resurrection, 
and  our  joy  because  of  this  assurance.  We  do  not  and 
cannot  have  a  conception  of  the  disembodied  state.  All 
attempted  thought  of  it  fashions  itself  after  the  pattern 
of  our  present  selves,  and  of  our  life  here.  We  think  of 
ourselves  and  friends  above  with  the  old  familiar  forms, 
features,  limbs;  seeing,  hearing,  speaking,  touching  and 
handling  one  another,  gathered  together  in  separate 
companies,  moving  from  place  to  place.  To  our  minds 
the  body  seems  indispensable.  It  is  the  organ,  or  instru- 
ment by  which  we  communicate  with  one  another,  and 
with  the  external  world.  How  shall  we  see  without  the 
eye?  how  shall  we  hear  without  the  ear?  or  handle  with- 
out the  hands?  how  without  hands  shall  we  fashion 
things  at  pleasure,  or  do  any  work,  or  accomplish  any- 
thing whatever?  How  shall  we  recognize  one  another, 
if  we  and  others  be  invisible,  intangible  spirits?  Regard- 
ing the  body  as  part  of  our  very  selves,  we  in  thought 
clothe  angels,  and  God  Himself  with  some  kind  of  corpo- 


126  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

I  JEjperience  2.  mceO  ot  ©bjects 


real  form.  Thus  because  of  the  construction  of  our 
nature,  because  of  the  vital  union  of  soul  and  body,  be- 
cause we  think  of  the  body  as  part  of  ourselves,  and  as 
our  indispensable  instrument,  and  because  this  embodied 
state  is  our  only  experience,  and  our  sole  knowledge  of 
ourselves,  the  idea  of  Space  impresses  itself  upon  and 
fashions  all  our  thoughts,  even  those  which  are  the  most 
spiritual,  as  when  in  spirit,  we  hold  communion  with 
God. 

What  we  said  in  regard  to  Time  is  true  also  of  Space. 
Confined  within  Space  with  no  experience  except  within 
it,  and  within  the  body,  with  all  beyond  a  blank,  we  can- 
not think  of  "No  Space;"  to  us  space  must  be  bound- 
less, there  can  be  nothing  beyond  it  in  any  direction. 
However  far  thought  and  imagination  may  bear  us,  the 
realm  to  which  we  penetrate  must  be  the  reproduction 
of  that  in  which  we  live,  and  of  which  alone  we  have  any 
knowledge,  the  realm  of  Space. 

Here  we  must  note  that  in  regard  to  Space  we  no 
more  have  a  law,  or  form,  or  postulate  of  thought,  than 
we  have  in  regard  to  any  thing  else.  It  is  a  simple 
matter  of  experience.  We  are  in  Space  and  having  no 
other  experience  than  this,  we  can  form  no  other 
thought. 

The  second  explanation  of  our  mode  of  thinking  of 
Space  is  in  the  fact  that  it  is  inseparable  from  objects ; 
of  these  it  is  the  characteristic,  the  property,  quality,  at- 
tribute. As  these  are  inseparable  from  that  to  which 
they  belong,  in  thinking  of  the  one  we  think  of  the  other. 
We  cannot  think  of  the  world  without  thinking  of  its 
great  characteristic,  property,  attribute,  that  of  expan- 
sion, space.  We  cannot  think  of  our  bodies,  nor  of  our 
bodies  as  part  of  ourselves  without  thinking  of  their  at- 
tribute, extension,  space.  As  in  thought  we  clothe  God, 
and    angels,  and    disembodied   souls  of  men  with  some 


VI  SPACE  127 

"CClc  must  tblnft  of  ©bjects 


kind  of  corporeal  form,  within  some  such  world  as  ours 
as  their  abode ;  as  we  cannot  entirely  disrobe  ourselves 
of  our  bodies,  as  the  world  is  a  world  of  material  objects, 
as  we  cannot  think  of  being  out  of  the  world,  as  all  things 
within  the  entire  range  of  thought  are,  as  it  thus  appears, 
inseparable  from  some  kind  of  bodily  presence,  if  we 
entertain  thought  at  all  we  must  have  the  thought  of 
Space,  the  attribute  of  body. 

Here  is  the  perfectly  plain  and  sufficient  explanation  of 
our  mode  of  thinking  of  Space.  It  must  be,  and  it  must 
be  boundless,  because  we  cannot  entirely  escape  from  the 
thought  of  some  kind  of  bodily  presence ;  we  cannot 
think  of  ourselves  as  being  out  of  the  world,  this  is  our 
all,  there  is  nothing  beyond.  With  this  thought  of  the 
world  and  of  bodily  presence  comes  the  thought  of  ex- 
tension, space,  the  attribute  of  these.  As  in  thought  we 
catinot  annihilate  every  thing,  the  world  and  all  bodily 
presence,  we  cannot  annihilate  Space.  Here  as  in  the 
thought  of  all  things  else,  we  think  of  the  attribute  in 
thinking  of  the  thing.  As  in  regard  to  Time,  it  is  a 
question  of  non-contradiction.  We  cannot  think  of 
Space  without  thinking  of  it,  we  cannot  at  once  think  of 
Space  and  not  think  of  it.  An  object,  or  body  and  its 
attribute  are  one  and  the  same.  To  think  of  the  one  is 
to  think  of  the  other.  To  us  Space,  therefore,  must  be 
and  it  must  be  boundless ;  boundlessness  being  involved 
in  the  necessity.  It  is  also  boundless  because  the  very 
thought  of  it  involves  the  thought  of  objects  with  their 
attribute  of  space,  ever  new  objects  with  ever  new  space. 
We  do  not  have  the  thought  of  absolute,  empty  space. 
We  think  of  some  object  as  a  centre  from  which  space 
extends  in  every  direction  to  successive  boundaries  more 
and  more  remote;  each  boundary  being  an  objective 
point,  where  zve  stand  to  look  onward  to  the  boundary 
beyond.      The  boundlessness  of  Space   shapes   itself   to 


128  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec 

■Real  mature  of  Space 

our  thought  as  a  series  of  distances  from  one  object,  or 
objective  point  to  another  indefinitely ;  and  with  this 
persistence  of  objects  is  the  persistence  of  Space,  their 
attribute. 

The  twofold  explanation  of  our  mode  of  thinking  of 
Space  is  concisely  expressed  in  the  two  sentences  already 
given — "We  are  in  Space,  and  having  no  other  experi- 
ence than  this,  we  can  form  no  other  thought," — "Space 
being  an  attribute  of  things,  or  objects,  as  we  cannot  in 
thought  annihilate  every  thing  we  cannot  annihilate 
Space." 

But  the  question  arises  what  is  the  Real  Nature  of 
Space?     Is  it  necessary?     Is  it  boundless? 

We  have  a  true  knowledge  of  Space  by  our  infallible 
intuitive  cognition  of  it.  It  is,  and  we  know  it  and  what 
it  is.  But  necessity  and  boundlessness  form  no  part  of 
our  intuitive  cognition  of  it.  These  thoughts  are  due, 
as  we  have  shown,  to  the  limitation  of  our  experience 
and  our  inability  to  think  of  anything  beyond  the  analogy 
of  ourselves  and  the  world.  And  in  truth  our  intuitive 
cognition  expressly  denies  such  thoughts  of  Space. 
Necessity  and  boundlessness  pertain  only  to  the  infinite, 
but  intuitive  cognition  affirms  that  Space  is  finite.  All 
our  knowledge  of  it  presents  it  as  measurable,  successive, 
divisible  into  parts,  capable  of  increase  and  decrease, 
confined  within  figure,  or  limited  as  definite  distance  be- 
tween points,  or  objects.  The  only  knowledge  which  we 
have  of  Space,  the  only  definition  which  we  can  give  of 
it,  is  expansion,  or  distance  between  two  or  more  things, 
real  or  imaginary,  which  give  its  two  limits,  its  beginning 
and  its  end,  and  the  expanse  of  a  body  confined  within 
the  boundary  of  its  figure. 

Care  must  be  taken  not  to  disregard  self-evident  truth, 
nor  be  discontented  with  it  and  attempt  the  impossible, 
that  of  passing  beyond  what  we  know  and  of  penetrating 


VI  SPACE  129 

Space  anJ)  f  nflnituDe 


into  the  unknowable  infinite.  We  must  remember  that 
we  are  absolutely  confined  within  the  realm  of  the  finite. 
We  must,  therefore,  draw  the  sharpest  distinction  be- 
tween "Infinitude"  and  Space,  as  we  have  already  done 
between  Eternity  and  Time.  The  relation  between  the 
two  former  of  these  is  kindred  to  that  between  the  two 
latter. 

Infinitude  belongs  to  the  realm  of  the  Infinite,  and  of 
it  we  can  form  no  conception  whatever,  although  because 
of  the  limitation  of  thought  and  speech,  we  may  be 
obliged  to  speak  of  it  in  the  terms  of  Space.  It  is  real 
because  it  is  an  attribute  of  the  infinite  God.  It  is  with- 
out extension,  without  parts,  without  succession,  with- 
out measure,  without  beginning,  without  end  and  with- 
out figure  or  boundary.  We  can  form  no  conception  of 
its  relation  to  Space,  nor  of  the  relation  of  space  to  it. 
It  cannot  be  said  to  be  an  illimitable  sphere  surrounding 
Space  upon  every  side;  for  this  would  divide  the  infinite 
into  parts,  that  upon  one  side  and  that  upon  another  side 
of  Space,  which  is  as  impossible  as  it  is  to  divide  Eter- 
nity into  two  parts,  that  before  Time  and  that  after  Time. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  Space  is  a  part  of  "Infinitude;" 
for  this  again  would  divide  the  indivisible ;  there  would 
be  a  portion  of  Infinitude  within  the  boundaries  of 
Space  and  another  portion  stretched  out  beyond  them; 
there  would  also  be  the  introduction  of  extension  and  of 
measure,  which  belong  not  to  "Infinitude." 

We  might  here  use  the  same  illustration  which  we 
gave  when  speaking  of  Eternity  and  Time  in  their  rela- 
tion to  one  another.  Space  may  be  like  an  infinitely  fine 
dot  on  a  line  drawn  in  the  form  of  a  circle,  of  which  dot 
we  may  say, "  it  is  there,"  "it  is  not  there,"  while  in 
either  case  the  unbroken  unity  of  the  circle  remains,  it  is 
unaiTected  by  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  dot.  If  it 
be  present,  there  is  no  definite  position  where  it  is,  for 

9 


130  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Space  a  3f  inite  IRealitis 


there  is  no  distinction  of  place  in  the  circle,  it  is  a  simple 
unit;  and  there  is  the  same  entire  line  going  from  dot  to 
dot  and  beyond  in  either  direction,  it  matters  not  which. 
While  this  does  not  enable  us  to  conceive  the  relation  of 
Infinitude  to  Space,  it  may  help  us,  as  before,  to  remove 
erroneous  thought. 

Infinitude  must  not  be  confounded  with  Omnipresence. 
This  latter  has  reference  to  Space.  It  is  that  attribute 
of  God  by  which  He  is  at  once  every  where  present 
throughout  the  entire  realm  of  Space.  Of  this  presence 
we  can  form  some  kind  of  conception.  Infinitude  is  that 
attribute  of  God  by  which  He  regardless  of  Space  is  in- 
finitely present.  Of  this  presence  we  can  form  no  con- 
ception whatever.  We  may  call  it  God's  Infinite  Pres- 
ence. It  corresponds  with  His  Eternity,  and  as  in  the 
case  of  Eternity  in  its  relation  to  Time,  all  we  can  do  is 
to  say  in  regard  to  its  relation  to  Space — The  Divine 
Infinite  Presence  is — Space  is. 

As  Infinitude  is  Real  because  it  is  an  attribute  of  God, 
being  His  Infinite  Presence,  so  Space  is  real  for  a  similar 
reason.  It  is  the  Attribute  of  the  created  universe.  We 
must  not  attribute  to  Space  any  of  the  characteristics  of 
Infinitude,  such  as  necessity,  boundlessness,  immeasur- 
ability. 

The  plain,  true  statement  of  Space  is — It  is  a  finite 
reality — the  attribute  of  the  created  world — the  extension 
of  things  in  length,  breadth  and  thickness — and  the  ex- 
panse between  their  parts  and  between  different  objects. 
It  began  in  time  with  the  created  universe,  and  ends 
should  this  cease  to  be — It  may  stretch  beyond  the  power 
of  our  thought,  but  is  strictly  confined  within  the  bound- 
ary of  creation — The  open  spaces  on  the  outermost  por- 
tions of  the  universe  are  themselves  the  remotest  realms, 
and  boundaries  of  Space  ;  filled  with  the  interstellar  ether, 
however  rarified,  or  with  something  more  rarified  than 


VI  SPACE  131 

Definite  Iknowledee 


it,  they  as  far  as  this  extends  are  actual  Space,  and  with 
it  Space  ends.  Beyond  we  can  only  think  of  imaginary 
or  potential  space,  and  only  upon  the  supposition  of 
something  imagined,  or  possible.  But  these  have  no 
reality  unless  by  creative  power  the  material  universe  be 
enlarged.  We  can  go  no  further,  having  reached  the 
limit  of  our  finite  realm.  More  than  this  we  do  not 
know.  The  relation  of  Space  to  Infinitude  we  cannot 
tell.  We  cannot  say  that  they  blend  in  some  way  with 
one  another,  nor  that  the  latter  is  beyond  the  former,  no 
more  than  we  can  say  that  Eternity  is  before  or  after 
Time,  or  that  these  blend  into  one  another.  All  that  we 
can  do  is  to  say — Space  such  as  we  know  is — Infinitude 
the  attribute  of  the  Eternal  God,  His  Infinite  Presence, 
His  all-presence  in  Infinity  is. 

Thus  our  knowledge  is  clear  and  definite,  apart  from 
all  confusion,  free  from  all  subtilties  and  difficulty  of 
apprehension.  We  know  what  Time  and  Space  are;  they 
are  the  familiar  attributes  of  created  things,  they  are  real, 
and  we  know  that  they  have  their  being  in  the  One  "  All 
in  All,"  in  The  Divine  Presence,  Eternal  and  Infinite. 
Time  and  Space  began  with  created  being  and  may  pass 
away,  "The  Divine  Presence"  abideth,  veiled  in  its  im- 
penetrable mystery. 

An  Illustration. 

Although  it  is  of  extreme  difficulty  to  give  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  relation  of  Time  and  Space  to  Eternity  and 
Infinitude,  we  suggest  the  following.  It  is  to  be  re- 
garded only  as  approximate ;  correct  in  some  respects, 
but  erroneous  in  others.  We  are,  moreover,  to  be  re- 
minded again  that  it  serves  only  to  remove  wrong 
thoughts;  it  does  not  enable  us  to  conceive  that  which 
is  inconceivable. 

Imagine  a  mathematical  point,  infinitely  finer  than  the 


132  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Sec. 

Illustration  Zimc  to  Bternits 


point  of  the  finest  needle,  a  point  without  length,  breadth 
or  thickness,  without  position  and  without  motion  within 
an  Infinite  Vacuum  which  has  no  shape,  nor  boundaries 
whatever.  This  soHtary,  infinitesimal  point  might  repre- 
sent Time,  including  all  its  countless  succession  of  ages, 
poised,  or  being  within  Eternity  unknown  to  us,  as  is 
the  Infinite  Vacuum,  though  not  unreal  as  it  is,  being 
itself  the  attribute  of  God,  the  foundation  and  fountain 
of  all  reality. 

The  point  is  noi  a  part  of  the  Infinite  Vacuum  within 
which  it  is,  for  it  is  infinitely  small,  it  has  neither  length, 
nor  breadth,  nor  thickness.  So  Time  is  not  a  part  of 
Eternity ;  in  comparison  with  it,  it  is  an  infinitely  small 
point,  it  has  no  measure,  no  length  whatever. 

The  point  is  within  the  Infinite  Vacuum,  but  it  has 
no  position  there,  for  there  is  no  position  within  it ;  all 
position  is  relative,  and  there  is  nothing  with  which  the 
infinitely  small  point  can  be  related.  It  is  nowhere, 
even  as  a  point  is  nowhere  upon,  or  in  reference  to  the 
unbroken  unity  of  a  circle.  So  Time,  as  a  unit,  is  within, 
but  yet  no-where  within  Eternity.  The  undivided  unity 
of  Eternity  is  equally  present  with  all  Time,  past,  present 
and  future.  Without  this  thought  of  "  nowhere,"  the 
illustration  would  here  be  in  error,  as  it  would  present 
the  idea  of  Eternity  surrounding,  or  encompassing  Time ; 
on  this  side  and  on  that  side  of  it. 

Again  the  point  is  motionless.  Infinitely  small  in 
itself,  there  is  nothing  towards  which  it  can  move,  or 
from  which  it  can  recede  in  any  direction,  and,  according 
to  the  supposition  made,  it  is  without  motion.  So  Time 
is  motionless  within  Eternity ;  as  a  unit  with  all  its  ages 
an  infinitely  small  point,  it  neither  recedes  from,  nor 
goes  to  another  part  of  Eternity ;  nor  does  Eternity  in 
any  part  draw  nearer  to,  or  recede  from  Time.  There 
was  no  waiting  in  Eternity  before  Time  was,  and  should 


VI  SPACE  133 

Space  to  ITnflnltu&c 


Time  end,  there  would  be  no  recession  of  it,  further  and 
further  away.  All  that  can  be  said  would  be — "  Eternity 
is — Time  is  and  Time  is  not — Eternity  is." 

The  same  illustration  may  be  used  for  the  relation  of 
Space  to  Infinitude.  The  infinitely  fine  point,  motionless 
and  without  position  in  the  Infinite  Vacuum,  might  rep- 
resent what  we  call  boundless  Space,  with  its  innumer- 
able multitude  of  worlds  and  clusters  of  worlds,  poised 
within  Infinitude.  The  point  is  not  a  part  of  the  Infinite 
Vacuum  within  which  it  is ;  for  it  is  infinitely  small, 
without  length,  breadth,  or  thickness.  So  Space  is  not 
a  part  of  Infinitude,  in  comparison  with  it,  it  is  infinitely 
small  without  dimensions  in  any  direction.  As  the  infi- 
nitely small  dot  is  within  the  Infinite  Vacuum  and  yet 
"nowhere,"  so  Space  is  within  Infinitude  and  yet  no- 
where therein.  Without  occupying  any  of  it,  and  with- 
out having  any  location  within  it,  Space  is  within 
Infinitude,  as  Time  is  within  Eternity  without  forming 
any  part  of  it  and  without  any  location  therein.  And  as 
the  point  is  motionless  within  the  Infinite  Vacuum,  so 
Space  is  without  motion  in  Infinitude,  there  is  nothing 
towards  which  it  can  advance,  and  nothing  from  which 
it  can  recede,  and  no  part  of  Infinitude  can  draw  nearer 
to  Space,  nor  depart  further  away  from  it.  Space  is  not 
encompassed  by  Infinitude,  it  is  within  it,  but  nowhere 
and  motionless  therein.  Without  the  thought  of  "no- 
where" and  "  motionlessness,"  the  illustration  would  be 
in  error.  Space  would  be  encompassed  by  Infinitude, 
whereas  the  undivided  unity  of  Infinitude  is  at  once  and 
equally  present  with  Space,  and  not  partly  upon  one 
side,  and  partly  upon  another. 

This  illustration  rightly  held  before  the  mind  is  cer- 
tainly striking  and  impressive.  A  soHtary  point  infinitely 
finer  than  the  point  of  the  finest  needle,  nowhere  and 
motionless    in   an    Infinite   Vacuum    without    shape   and 


134  HI     WHAT  ARE  WE?  Skc. 

IRot  in  Space  as  JSoOis  fe 


boundaries,  representing  Time  in  Eternity  and  Space  in 
Infinitude.  It  is  not,  however,  presented  to  enable  us  to 
form  a  conception  of  these  things ;  this  is  impossible, 
but  to  show  that  all  these  transcend  our  highest  thought, 
and  to  keep  us  from  wrong  thoughts  concerning  them, 
such  as  that  Time  is  the  same  as  Eternity  and  Space  the 
same  as  Infinitude  and  that  Time  is  a  part  of  Eternity, 
and  Space  a  part  of  Infinitude ;  that  Time  and  Space  are 
infinite,  and  that  Eternity  and  Time  have  a  relative 
motion,  a  going  before  and  following  after,  while,,  in 
truth.  Eternity  is  a  U7iit  at  once  present  with  all  Time 
past,  present  and  future,  as  Infinitude,  an  uttdivided  unit, 
is  at  once  present  with  all  Space. 

Another  all  important  question  here  arises — What  is 
relation  of  the  Soul  to  Space? 

Section  VII     The  Relation  of  the  Soul  to  Space 

Here  we  must  emphasize  the  essential  distinction  be- 
tween the  spiritual  and  the  material.  These  are  two 
different  substances,  each  with  its  own  peculiar  attributes. 
What  the  one  is  the  other  is  not.  This  is  a  fundamental 
Truth  of  all  Science.  Without  its  recognition  all  is 
necessarily  confusion  and  error ;  because  of  the  prevalent 
greater  or  less  disregard  of  it,  there  is  much  in  the 
present-day  teaching,  which  is  far  from  true.  Both  of 
these  substances  are  within  Space,  but  they  do  not  stand 
related  to  it  in  the  same  way. 

A  material  object  occupies  space,  it  has  extension 
there,  it  is  a  part  of  Space.  The  human  Soul  does  not 
occupy  space ;  it  has  no  extension.  In  regard  to  it  we 
definitely  know,  that  it  is  within  Space,  and  that  it  is  at 
present  limited  therein,  by  reason  of  its  vital  union  with 
the  body.  But  we  ask  is  Space  a  necessity  for  it?  Can 
it  be  out  of  Space,  and  if  so,  how  are  we  to  conceive  of 
it  in  such  case,  and  of  its  relation  to  other  spirits  in  the 


VII  THE  SOUL  AND  SPACE  135 

prevailing  IDiews 


same  realm  ?  The  answer  to  these  questions  must  be 
that  they  are  beyond  the  sphere  of  our  mental  power, 
because  beyond  all  our  experience.  We  are  creatures  of 
Space,  and  have  no  other  experience  than  that  of  being 
within  it.  It  is  true  that  we  cannot  be  beyond  the  realm 
of  Time.  This  is  because  Time  is,  as  we  have  seen,  an 
attribute  of  all  created  being.  While  we  have  any  being, 
we  must  be  in  Time.  But  we  do  not  have  any  corres- 
ponding intuitive  cognition  of  ourselves  in  regard  to 
Space.  It  is  not  a  characteristic,  property,  attribute  of 
the  spirit.  As  before  mentioned,  the  disembodied  state 
of  the  soul  must  be  a  profound  mystery  to  us.  Held,  as 
we  have  been  all  our  life  long,  within  Space  by  vital 
union  with  the  body,  we  cannot  follow  the  free  Spirit, 
when  it  goes  forth  upon  the  dissolution  of  that  bond  of 
confinement. 

Being  in  Space,  the  simple  question  now  before  us  is — 
What  is  the  relation  of  the  Soul  to  Space  ?  The  view  of 
this,  which  has  been  generally  held,  is  most  indefinite 
and  unsatisfactory.  The  seemingly  absurd  attempt  has 
been  made  to  confine  the  soul  within  some  minute  cell, 
or  gland  of  the  brain,  the  so-called  seat  of  the  soul,  as 
though  it  were  a  minute,  inactive,  insignificant  thing. 
Shut  up  within  this  innermost  secluded  cell,  in  some 
most  inexplicable,  inconceivable  manner,  by  means  of  in- 
numerable nerve  filaments,  the  whole  figured,  colored, 
moving,  complicated  imagery  and  panorama  of  the 
world,  with  all  manner  of  experiences  and  fellowship 
with  other  beings  are  transmitted  to  it;  and  by  means 
of  such  filaments  it,  receiving  all  this,  sends  forth  from 
its  deep  seclusion  and  close  confinement,  its  thoughts 
and  emotions,  and  executes  its  will.  To  this  long  pre- 
valent idea  the  present  physiological  psychology  appears 
to  lend  support,  and  with  it  seems  to  be  inseparably 
connected. 


136  III    WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

©mnlpresencc  of  tbe  Soul 


It  is,  however,  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  is  incon- 
ceivable and  absurd.  It  is  as  absurd  as  the  supposition 
that,  when  a  message  is  sent  the  very  words  themselves 
are  carried  along  the  telegraph  wire.  The  telegraph  and 
this  supposed  nerve  communication  are  in  reality  totally 
different.  The  former  is  only  a  means  of  long  distance 
signalling.  It  can  be  done  equally  well,  within  seeing 
distance,  by  flash-light,  and  within  hearing  distance  by 
tapping  with  the  finger  on  a  table.  But  in  the  hypothet- 
ical nerve  system  it  is  knowledge,  imagery,  figure, 
motion,  sound,  and  hence  the  very  things  and  the  very 
words  themselves  which  are  transmitted. 

Immeasurably  more  reasonable  and  superior  is  the 
view  which  we  have  always  entertained.  The  relation  of 
the  Soul  to  Space  is  that  of  omnipresence  within  its  own 
sphere.  What  that  sphere  is  we  may  be  unable  to  tell. 
It  must  have  limits,  for  the  human  soul  is  not  infinite ; 
moreover  by  reason  of  its  vital  union  with  the  body,  it 
cannot  depart  entirely  from  within  it.  Filling  the  body 
with  its  omnipresence  and  bound  to  it,  the  limits  of  the 
body  may  form  its  boundaries,  but  not  assuredly  so ;  the 
sphere  of  its  omnipresence  may  be  as  far  as  the  activity 
of  its  being  has  power  to  be,  and  as  far  as  it  may  go,  or 
not  go  at  pleasure,  taking  in  knowledge,  and  exercising 
its  power. 

By  omnipresence  is  meant  the  presence  of  the  Soul  in 
its  indivisible  unity  at  once  in  every  place  within  its 
sphere. 

Instead  of  close  and  secluded,  obscure,  solitary  con- 
finement within  an  insignificant  brain  cell,  cut  off  from 
all  beyond  its  narrow  prison,  receiving  and  sending  com- 
munications through  long  lines  of  nerve  filaments,  the 
human  Soul  is  omnipresent  throughout  the  body,  wher- 
ever there  is  the  slightest  nerve  structure,  perceiving  and 
directing  all  things  immediately  for  itself;  present  in  one 


VII  THE  SOUL  AND  SPACE  137 

proofs  1  Blone  Conceivable 


place  more  than  another,  only  as  itself  concentrates  its 
activity  and  attention  here  and  there.  At  once  and 
equally  present  in  both  eyes  and  in  every  feature  of  the 
mobile  face,  it  looks  forth  upon  and  dominates  the  world, 
revealing  by  every  look  and  flash  of  the  eye,  and  every 
expression  on  brow  and  cheek  and  lip,  its  thoughts, 
emotions,  will,  its  real  presence  there,  so  that  as  friend 
looks  into  the  eye  and  face  of  friend  they  see  each  one 
the  other's  soul,  and,  going  forth  to  one  another,  soul 
touches  and  blends  with  soul — there  is  a  real  presence 
of  the  one  with  the  other — a  real  presence,  at  that 
supreme  moment,  free  from  intermediation. 

This  is  not  a  flight  of  fancy,  it  is  that  which  men  have 
often  felt  and  delighted  in.  Surely  we  all  have  had  some- 
thing of  the  mysterious  presence  and  blending  of  soul 
with  soul.  There  are,  moreover,  a  number  of  important 
considerations  of  a  scientific  character,  by  which  this 
view  of  the  relation  of  the  Soul  to  Space  is  supported. 

In  the  first  place,  this  is  the  only  conceivable  relation 
possible.  If  we  reject  this,  we  have  nothing  whatever  to 
put  in  its  place.  To  say  that  it  has  a  "ubi,"  that  is  a 
position,  a  location,  without  occupying  space  is  simply 
to  express  its  limitation ;  it  does  not  tell  what  relation 
the  soul  has  to  the  position  within  which  it  is.  What  is 
the  antithesis  to  "occupying  space?"  All  that  can  be 
suggested,  beyond  the  mere  negation  of  "  non-occupy- 
ing," is  omnipresence.  Our  inability  to  think  of  any 
other  relation  does  not,  of  course,  in  itself  prove  that 
there  is  none  other ;  but  it  has  this  much  of  scientific 
force,  omnipresence  is  a  definite  and  reasonable  relation, 
which  the  Soul  may  have  to  Space,  and,  in  default  of 
anything  else,  it  should  be  accepted  as,  at  least,  reason- 
able and  possible,  and  better  than  a  total  want  of 
thought. 

In  the  second  place,  omnipresence  is   required  by  the 


138  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sic. 

2  Biternal  {perception  3  <5oD's  Umage 


true  doctrine  of  External  Perception,  that  is  of  the  "  In- 
tuitive Cognition  of  the  External  World."  We  have 
above  spoken  of  the  seemingly  inconceivable  and  absurd 
supposition,  that  the  Soul  is  confined  within  a  small  cell, 
in  the  far  interior  of  the  brain,  and  that  all  our  knowl- 
edge of  external  things  is  transmitted  to  it  through  long 
filaments  of  nerves;  and  in  contrast,  we  presented  the 
reasonable  and  true  view,  that  the  soul  is  present  to,  and 
cognizes  the  things  of  the  external  world  immediately  in 
themselves.  This  necessitates  the  actual  presence  of  the 
Soul  in  the  eyes,  face,  hands,  etc.  Without  this  the  In- 
tuitive Cognition  of  External  Realities  must  be  aband- 
oned. All  this  will  appear  clearly,  when  we  unfold  the 
doctrine  of  Intuitive  Perception. 

In  the  third  place,  the  omnipresence  of  the  Soul  is 
proved  by  analogy  with  the  omnipresence  of  God.  It  is 
a  scientific  truth,  as  well  as  a  truth  of  Revelation,  that 
we  bear  the  image  and  likeness  of  God.  The  fundamental 
truth  of  all  knowledge  is  the  essential  distinction  between 
the  material  and  the  spiritual.  We  are  spirits  and  the 
Deity,  the  Great  First  Cause,  equally  with  ourselves  must 
be  a  Spirit.  Being  thus  of  the  same  substance  with  Him, 
we  must  have  the  same  essential  relation  to  Space  that 
He  has,  the  difference  being,  ours  is  finite,  His  is  infinite. 
Such  is  the  nature  of  His  Being,  that  He  is  at  once 
equally  present  through  all  Space,  however  wide-spreading 
it  may  be,  and  we  bearing  His  likeness,  spiritual  as  He  is 
spiritual,  must  also  be  omnipresent  to  Space  within  the 
narrow  limits  of  our  finite  being,  and  sphere.  Herein 
we  have  again  a  positive  proof  of  the  soul's  omnipresence. 

In  the  fourth  place,  we  have  a  proof  from  the  Testi- 
mony of  Consciousness,  as  far  as  we  can  discern  and  in- 
terpret it.  It  may  safely  be  af^rmed,  that  the  supposi- 
tion of  the  Soul  as  seated  in  a  cell  of  the  brain  and 
receiving  all  things  by  transmission  to  it  through  nerves 


VII  THE  SOUL  AND  SPACE  139 

4  Conscioue  tbrougbout  tbe  JSoD^ 


from  a  distance,  has  no  warrant,  nor  intimation  in  Con- 
sciousness. When  I  "think,"  I  am  not  conscious  of  any 
transmission  to  a  posterior,  or  central  cell  of  the  brain. 
I  am  conscious  only  of  activity  in  my  brow,  and  in  the 
anterior  portions  of  the  two  hemispheres  of  the  brain. 
When  I  "see,"  I  know  nothing  of  an  optic  nerve,  and 
the  passage  of  anything  whatever  along  it,  but  I  am  dis- 
tinctly conscious  of  sight  in,  or  of  seeing  with  or  through 
mine  eyes.  When  I  "  hear,"  I  am  only  conscious  of 
hearing  in,  or  with  mine  ears.  I  know  of  no  auditory 
nerve,  bearing  sound  to  me  seated  at  some  distance 
within.  When  I  lay  my  hand  upon  and  touch  some  ob- 
ject, there  is  no  knowledge  of  any  kind  of  transmission, 
the  feeling,  the  perception  is  all  at  my  finger  ends. 
When  I  have  a  pain,  or  a  perception  of  heat  or  cold  in 
my  foot,  all  the  consciousness  is  in  my  foot,  none  what- 
ever within  the  head.  Thus  it  is  in  regard  to  every  par- 
ticular. In  Consciousness  every  thing  has  its  own  place 
in  the  body,  and  we  take  knowledge  of  it  in  the  place 
where  it  is. 

Two  reasons  may  be  given,  why  we  seem  to  ourselves 
to  be  within  the  head  more  than  elsewhere.  It  is  be- 
cause in  fact  the  head  is  by  far  the  most  important  part 
of  the  body.  Therein  is  the  brain,  the  great  and  myster- 
ious organ  of  thought ;  it  is  therein  that  we  mainly  do 
our  thinking ;  there  also  are  the  great  organs  of  sight, 
hearing,  smelling,  tasting,  speaking  and  feeling  with 
tongue  and  lips.  Theoretically,  we  might  dispense  with 
all  the  rest  of  the  body,  if  we  could  move  with  wings 
as  cherubs  and  had  some  one  to  execute  our  will  for  us 
in  place  of  hands,  or  if  we  could  move  or  work  by  mere 
will-power,  Because  of  this  superior  importance  of  the 
head,  the  soul's  occupations,  activity,  attention,  con- 
sciousness, is  chiefly  centered,  but  not  confined  there. 
As,  at  times,  we    may  be  all  absorbed  by  one  thought. 


140  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  s«c. 

TKnbs  apparently  In  tbe  DeaD 


and  oblivious  to  all  else  so,  as  a  general  rule,  we  have 
our  attention  taken  up  with  the  activity  within  the  head. 
It  is,  as  it  were,  the  central  station,  or  "head-quarters" 
of  the  omnipresent  Soul. 

The  volitions,  producing  voluntary  motions  in  the 
limbs,  etc.,  may  be  said  to  go  forth  from  the  brain  along 
the  nerves,  but  not  because  any  real  "will"  is  thus 
transmitted,  but  simply  because  of  the  organic  and 
mechanical  construction  of  the  body.  The  body  is  a 
unit,  all  the  bones,  muscles,  tendons  and  nerves  are 
bound  together,  as  a  piece  of  complicated  machinery, 
and  for  all  this  the  brain  is  the  great  centre  or  store- 
house of  nerve-force.  When  we  "will,"  the  nerve-force 
corresponds,  and  there  may  be  the  activity  of  the  nerve- 
force  from  brain  to  nerve  centres,  and  through  nerves 
along  their  course.  But  this  is  not  mental  or  will  power ; 
it  is  only  nerve-force.  When  we  move  the  limb  with  the 
foot,  if  we  observe  carefully,  we  find  that  we  discern,  not 
transmission,  but  the  chief  concentration  of  consciousness 
within  the  head,  and  at  the  same  moment  a  consciousness 
through  the  entire  limb  from  the  hip  to  the  foot;  the 
feeling  and  the  effort  are  in  these,  and  if  we  meet  with 
resistance,  we  are  conscious  of  greater  effort  within  the 
muscles  of  the  leg  and  foot.  This  has  been  called  our 
sixth,  or  muscular  sense. 

The  second  reason  why  we  seem  to  be  within  the  head, 
more  than  elsewhere,  may  be  because  the  brain  is  per- 
haps the  place  of  the  vital  union  of  the  soul  and  body, 
although  we  have  no  proof  that  it  is  such  beyond  the 
fact  that  it  is  the  largest  nerve  mass.  It  may,  however, 
be  the  case,  that  the  omnipresent  soul  has  a  vital  union 
also  with  other  nerve  centres  and  nerve  filaments,  or  in 
other  words,  with  the  entire  nervous  system  as  a  unit. 
But  if  this  be  the  case,  it  would  still  remain  true,  that 
the  brain  is  the  chief  part  of  the  nervous  system  and  the 


VII  THE  SOUL  AND  SPACE  141 

mot  Confined  in  tbe  JSrain 

centre,  as  it  were,  of  the  vital  union.  Other  portions  of 
the  system  may  be  destroyed  without  affecting  the  brain, 
but  injury  to  the  brain  impairs  or  destroys  the  activity  of 
the  rest,  and  serious  injury  to  it  is  fatal.  The  vital  union 
of  the  soul  and  body  is,  however,  a  mystery  into  which 
we  cannot  in  the  least  degree  penetrate. 

It  thus  appears  that  Consciousness  gives  no  indication 
that  the  Soul  is  confined  within  an  interior  cell  of  the 
brain,  or  even  within  the  head,  there  receiving  trans- 
mitted communications  and  sending  its  volitions  to  dis- 
tant bodily  organs  and  members.  The  distinct  testimony 
of  Consciousness  is,  that  we  are  conscious  in  various 
parts  of  the  body  and  at  diiTerent  places  at  the  same 
moment;  that  in  our  volitions,  moving  our  limbs  and 
organs,  we  have  a  consciousness  not  only  within  the 
head,  but  also  within  the  varied  organs  and  limbs  them- 
selves; that  the  more  distinct  consciousness  within  the 
head  is  simultaneous  with  consciousness  elsewhere 
through  the  body,  and  is  simply  because  of  the  greater 
spiritual  activity  and  attention  there. 

When  we  think  of  our  presence,  our  persons,  our  very 
ownselves,  we  think  of  these  as  pervading  our  entire 
body,  every  part  of  which,  animated  by  ourselves,  is  a 
part  and  a  manifestation  of  ourselves,  living,  quivering, 
responsive  to  every  thought,  and  emotion  of  our  being. 

Thus  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness  is  positively  to 
the  omnipresence  of  the  Soul  in  Space,  as  far  as  we  can 
discern  and  interpret  it.  It  certainly  is  a  fair  supposi- 
tion, that  the  Soul  is  present  wherever  there  is  con- 
sciousness, feeling,  perception.  As  these  overspread  the 
body,  they  indicate  the  omnipresence  of  the  Soul  therein. 
It  is  curious  to  note,  that  the  very  place,  called  the  seat 
of  the  Soul,  where  the  whole  Soul,  with  all  its  spiritual 
activity,  is  supposed  to  be  confined,  is  the  place  of 
which  we    are    totally   unconscious,    and    of  which  men 


142  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec. 

Sensations  from  Xost  /IRembcrs 


in   general  have    no    knowledge,  nor  thought  whatever. 

Possibly  an  objection  may  be  made  founded  on  the 
experience  of  individuals,  who  have  been  more  or  less 
maimed.  It  is  said,  that  they  refer  sensations,  etc.,  to 
the  lost  members,  as  though  they  were  still  living  por- 
tions of  the  body;  that  they  are  still  conscious  of  them. 

The  reply  would  be  in  the  first  place,  that  the  alleged 
experience,  properly  scrutinized,  is  probably  exaggerated, 
at  least  as  a  foundation  for  the  inferences  drawn  from  it. 

In  the  second  place,  there  is  a  misinterpretation  of 
Consciousness,  as  is  often  the  case.  The  individuals 
cannot  be  conscious  of  the  lost  members,  as  there  can  be 
no  consciousness  of  that  which  does  not  exist.  They 
are  conscious  only  of  sensations,  etc.,  along  the  course 
of,  or  at  the  extremities  of  the  severed  nerves,  and  they 
misinterpret  this,  as  being  within  the  vividly  remembered 
lost  members.  The  vividness  of  the  remembrance,  and 
and  the  former  long  continued  habitual  use  of  the  lost 
members  prevent  them  from  doing  otherwise.  Indeed 
in  thinking  of  the  body,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  them 
not  to  think  of  it  in  its  unimpaired  integrity. 

They  are  conscious  of  the  entire  remnant  of  the  limb, 
as  it  now  is ;  and  in  thought  they  reconstruct  it ;  but  in 
so  doing  they  can  originate  nothing  new ;  they  can  only 
reconstruct  it  after  the  form  and  fashion  it  formerly  had. 

Moreover,  however  much  they  may  af^rm  that  they 
are  still  conscious  of  the  lost  members,  they  know  by 
their  own  consciousness,  better  than  any  can  tell  them, 
the  great  privation  which  is  theirs.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered, that  all  the  members  of  the  body  are  part  of  our 
being,  as  we  now  are,  and  the  natural,  spontaneous, 
irrepressible  impulse  is  to  think  of  them,  and  use  them 
as  though  they  were  all  whole  and  unimpaired ;  but  the 
impulse  is  checked  by  the  sad  consciousness  of  the  con- 
trary, if  a  member  has  been  lost. 


VII  THE  SOUL  AND  SPACE  143 

(Tbe  ©bjectlon  answercO 


Any  reference  of  the  excitation  along  the  course,  and 
at  the  extremity  of  the  severed  nerves  to  the  lost  mem- 
bers must  be  of  the  most  general  and  indefinite  charac- 
ter; and  very  different  from  the  conscious  moving  of  the 
fingers,  for  example,  the  closing  and  opening  of  the 
hand,  the  turning  of  the  wrist,  the  tactual  perception  of 
things  by  handling  them,  by  the  pressure  of  the  hand 
and  the  intelligent,  and  adroit  passage  and  play  of  the 
fingers  and  finger-tips  upon,  and  along  them.  This  is 
the  character  of  the  true  consciousness  of  the  member. 

Our  presentation  of  the  case  evidently  agrees  with, 
and  explains  the  experience  in  question,  as  well  as  the 
supposition  of  transmission  and  reference,  and  thus 
destroys  the  force  of  the  objection  connected  with  it. 

In  the  third  place,  the  supposition  of  transmission  and 
reference  cannot  be  true  because  it  makes  Consciousness 
false  and  untrustworthy.  According  to  it.  Conscious- 
ness presents  sensations,  etc.,  coming  from  the  ends  of 
severed  nerves  as  though  they  came,  for  example,  from 
a  lost  foot.  Here  is  positive  deception.  We  have  no 
Consciousness  of  nerves,  nor  of  various  divisions,  and 
subdivisions  of  the  brain.  We  are  conscious  only  of 
sensations,  etc.,  and  if  these  be  carried  to  the  soul,  con- 
fined within  some  cell  of  the  brain,  they  can  not  be  re- 
ferred to  the  different  parts  of  the  body,  from  whence 
they  came,  unless  they  are  presented  in  Consciousness  as 
originating  there.  We  are  dealing  only  with  Conscious- 
ness, and  particular  sensations,  etc.,  must  be  presented 
by  it  as  belonging  to  their  own  parts  of  the  body,  if  they 
are  to  be  referred  to  them.  There  is  no  other  criterion, 
by  which  they  may  be,  as  it  were,  differentiated,  assorted, 
and  referred  each  to  its  own  place.  Hence  if  sensations, 
etc.,  be  referred  to  a  lost  foot,  or  to  some  other  lost 
member.  Consciousness  has  made  a  false  presentation, 
and   its   trustworthiness  is   destroyed.     This,  of  course. 


144  ni     WHAT  ARE  WEe?  sec. 

XLbc  ©fispritifl  ot  (5oD 


effectually  removes    the    objection   of   which    we   speak. 
We  are  now  prepared  to  make  a  statement  of  "what 
we  are  " — of  what  "  Man  "  is. 

Section  VIII     What  is  Man 

Man  is  an  Immortal  Spirit,  bearing  the  likeness  of 
God,  in  vital  union  with  a  material  organized  body, 
within  which  it  is  omnipresent.  The  body  is  his  garment 
and  dwelling  place,  and  also  his  organ,  or  instrument,  by 
which  he  holds  communion  with  the  material  world,  and 
with  his  fellow-beings. 

The  body  is  dependent  upon  the  indwelling  soul,  but 
the  immortal  soul  is  not  dependent  upon  it.  The  Soul 
separated  from  the  body  lives,  with  the  activity  of  its  at- 
tributes, in  the  disembodied  state,  but  needs  the  body 
for  the  fulness  of  human  nature.  The  hoped  for  spiritual 
body  is  a  material  one ;  spiritual,  not  because  possessed 
of  spiritual  properties,  but  so  called,  because  far  better 
adapted,  than  the  present  body,  for  the  highest  needs  of 
the  Soul  and  for  the  sphere  of  the  Soul's  exalted  life 
hereafter. 

In  a  strictly  scientific  sense,  Man  is  the  Offspring  of 
God.  God  is  the  Father  of  his  Spirit  by  a  creative  act, 
and  the  Former  of  his  body. 

It  is  a  scientific  impossibility  for  him  to  be  evolved,  or 
developed  from  an  inferior  being,  or  creature.  Spiritu- 
ally and  bodily  he  must  come  from  a  Superior,  or  at  the 
very  least  from  an  equal. 

The  First  Man  was  fully  endowed  with  all  the  attributes 
of  complete,  and  highest  possible  human  nature.  Any 
lineal  connection,  which  he  may  have  with  mere  animal 
forms,  denotes  not  his  origin,  nor  procreation,  but  was 
only  for  the  protection,  and  nurture  of  the  new  created 
being. 

Man,   himself,   being   a   Spirit,  it   is   the   Soul,   which 


VIII  WHAT  IS  MAN  145 

S  Spiritual  Cosmos 


chiefly  occupies  our  attention,  and  engages  our  investi- 
gation. Hence  we  must  state  the  concept  of  it,  which 
we  should  entertain. 

The  Human  Soul. 

The  Soul  is  a  real  spiritual  substance,  endowed  with 
its  attributes,  laws,  forces,  activities,  precisely  as  is  the 
case  with  all  material  objects.  We  may  conceive  of  each 
individual  soul,  as  in  itself  a  Cosmos,  corresponding  with 
the  Material  Cosmos.  Between  these  two,  there  is  a 
very  striking  analogy,  adopting,  in  a  general  sense  at 
least,  the  Nebular  Hypothesis  of  the  origin,  character 
and  development  of  the  Universe,  and  the  law  of  the 
conservation,  or  persistence  of  force. 

At  the  very  beginning  the  Universe  was  an  attenuated, 
diffused  Nebula,  inactive,  dark,  cold,  but  endowed  with 
all  material  forces,  laws,  characteristics.  These  were  all 
unmanifested.  Step  by  step  they  acted,  and  reacted  upon 
one  another,  and  the  present  Cosmos  is  the  result.  Thus 
it  is  with  the  human  Soul  conceived  of  as  a  spiritual 
Cosmos.  It  comes  into  being  endowed  with  every 
power,  law  and  characteristic  of  human  nature,  but  all 
these  are  unmanifested,  and  the  soul  itself  inert,  and  a 
perfect  void.  But  as  the  material  forces  began  immedi- 
ately, and  at  the  first  imperceptibly  to  act  and  react  upon 
one  another,  so  the  powers  of  the  Soul  began  immedi- 
ately to  do  likewise.  They  act  and  react  upon  one  an- 
other, at  the  outset  in  the  most  imperceptible  manner, 
but  gradually  manifest  themselves  more  and  more  clearly 
and  fully,  up  to  the  complete  development  of  the  matured 
man. 

The  material  Cosmos,  apart  from  all  forms  of  life,  re- 
ceives and  needs,  according  to  theory,  no  influence  from 
without.  Its  forces  are  ever  fully  energizing;  all  rest 
being  due  to  their  equilibrium,  as  opposed  to  one 
10 


146  III     WHAT  ARE  WE?  sec 

21  WoiD  Bjctcrnal  f  nfluenccs 


another,  and  the  Cosmos  itself  is  ever  tending  to  the 
the  final  darkness,  cold  and  inactivity  of  the  complete 
equilibrium  of  all  its  forces.  Thus  also  the  powers  of 
the  human  Soul  are  ever  energizing,  their  greater  or  less 
activity  and  rest  being  due,  to  the  degree  in  which  they 
are  or  are  not  held  in  check  by  one  another,  and  they 
would  at  last  fall  into  a  state  of  abiding  inactivity  by 
reason  of  their  complete  equilibrium,  were  it  not  for  in- 
fluences from  without.  These  the  Soul,  unlike  the 
material  Cosmos,  needs,  and  is  continually  receiving. 
Deprived  of  all  influences  from  the  external  material  and 
spiritual  realms,  the  Soul  would  never  develop,  and 
would  forever  remain  a  perfect  void  or  blank.  These 
influences  come  upon  it  through  its  vital  union  with  the 
body. 

The  total  void  or  blank  condition  of  the  Soul  at  the 
outset,  and  apart  from  all  external  influences,  must  be 
distinctly  emphasized  in  order  to  form  a  true  concept  of 
the  Soul.  It  comes  into  being  with  complete  endow- 
ment of  all  its  powers,  laws,  tendencies,  character,  but 
altogether  without  knowledge,  fundamental  truths, 
axioms,  ideas,  principles,  necessary  beliefs  or  judgments, 
"right  and  wrong,"  etc.  It  has  none  of  these,  not  even 
in  abeyance,  and  undeveloped,  awaiting  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  power,  and  opportunity  for  their  spon- 
taneous manifestation.  These  are  all  acquired.  In  large 
measure  they  are  from  training,  precept,  education,  given 
by  others,  and  the  adoption  of  the  views,  principles,  ex- 
ample of  those  among  whom  the  individual  grows  up. 
Apart  from  this,  they  are  derived  from  the  intuitive  or 
immediate  cognition  of  things  of  the  external  and  in- 
ternal worlds,  as  they  are  in  themselves,  and  in  their  re- 
lations to  one  another;  and  the  working  up  of  this 
material  by  the  discursive  powers  of  the  mind,  acting 
according  to  the    laws  of   their  operation,  just    as    the 


VIII  WHAT  IS  MAN  147 

Instinct 


forces  of  Nature  act  according  to  their  laws,  together 
with  the  emotions,  corresponding  to  the  thoughts,  ideas, 
knowledge  thus  formed  and  called  forth  by  them. 

By  Heredity,  and  by  Instinct,  by  one,  or  both  of 
these,  according  as  they  are,  or  are  not  distinguished 
from  one  another,  nothing  more  is  done  than  to  give  en- 
dowment of  power  for  certain  things;  an  endowment, 
the  possession  of  which  prompts  its  own  activity.  Thus 
a  great  linguist  may  have  a  son  of  the  same  character, 
that  is,  a  son  who  has  the  same  linguistic  ability,  but  no 
knowledge  of  any  language.  He  acquires  such  knowl- 
edge only  as  he  studies  the  languages,  one  after  another. 
This  is  the  nature  of  all  "Instinct."  Thus,  for  example, 
the  Instinct  of  a  bird  to  build  its  own  peculiar  nest,  is 
simply  the  endowment  of  power  peculiar  for  such  con- 
struction. Possessed  of  this,  at  the  proper  time,  with 
proper  environment  and  material,  the  bird  builds  its  own 
characteristic  nest,  guided,  doubtless  in  good  degree,  by 
the  prompting  of  its  own  needs,  by  the  remembrance  of 
the  nest  it  occupied  as  a  fledgling,  and  by  the  example 
and  influence  of  older  birds. 

The  character,  or  state  of  the  Soul,  being  at  the  outset 
such  as  we  have  described,  and  the  Soul  being  in  vital 
union  with  a  material  organism,  as  yet  immature  and 
unborn,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  its  first  ex- 
perience is  that  of  physical  feeling.  Thus  we  have  Sen- 
sation presented  to  us  for  our  consideration. 


Intuitiue  "^tvccpixon 

CHAPTER   IV 

Sensation 

Section  I     Bodily  Feeling 

Sensation  is  a  physical  or  bodily  feeling.  Not  be- 
cause that  which  is  material  is  capable  of  feeling,  but 
only  because  the  body  gives  rise  to,  or  is  the  cause  of 
the  peculiar  feelings  in  question;  these  are  themselves 
purely  spiritual. 

Sensation  is  simply  the  feeling  of  pleasure  or  pain.  It 
belongs  to  the  emotional  powers  of  the  Soul.  The 
division  of  the  powers  of  the  Soul,  which  we  adopt  as 
the  simplest  and  the  best,  is  that  which  presents  them  in 
three  classes — the  Cognitive,  the  Emotional,  the  Volun- 
tary, or  Cognition,  Emotion,  Will. 

The  view  given  by  Sir  William  Hamilton  in  regard  to 
the  nature  of  the  Emotions  seems  to  be  perfectly  satis- 
factory. The  Feelings  are,  according  to  this,  the  Reflex 
of  certain  states  or  conditions  of  the  Soul  and  of  the 
Body.  According  to  the  very  law  of  our  being,  when 
we  have  certain  activities,  there  arise  within  the  Soul 
certain  emotions  corresponding  with  them.  They  spring 
forth  from  these  activities  as  the  sparks  spring  from  the 
glowmg  iron,  as  the  smith  strikes  it  with  his  hammer 
on  the  anvil ;  as  the  recoil  of  the  gun  when  it  is  fired ; 
the  crack  of  the  rifle ;  the  spring  and  twang  of  the  bow, 
as  the  arrow  shoots  forth  from  it ;  as  the  thunder  which 
comes  from  the  atmosphere,  rent  from  cloud  to  earth 
by  the  flash  of  lightning ;  as  the  sighing  and  moaning  of 
148 


I  BODILY  FEELING  149 

pleasure  and  patn  "Keflex  of  tbe  JSoDi^ 


the  winds,  as  they  blow  through  the  trees  of  the  forests 
and  plains,  or  as  the  sweet  music  heard  as  they  pass  over 
the  strings  of  the  ^olian  Harp ;  as  the  flash  of  light, 
from  the  impact  of  the  projectile  of  a  rifled  cannon 
against  the  side  of  an  iron-clad  vessel. 

The  sensations  are  the  feelings,  which  are  the  reflex  of 
the  varied  activities  of  the  body ;  they  spring  forth  from 
them  after  the  manner  of  the  illustrations  just  given. 
That  we  should  understand  this  is,  of  course,  impossible. 
But,  however  deep  the  mystery,  the  fact  itself  is  readily 
apprehended.  Its  possibility  and  its  cause  is  the  vital 
union  of  the  soul  and  body,  one  of  the  most  incompre- 
hensible, and  inexplicable  of  all  the  facts  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  All  that  we  can  say  is,  that  there  is  such 
union,  and  that  because  of  it,  the  varied  activities  of  the 
body  are  accompanied  by  corresponding  feelings  within 
the  soul.  These  feelings,  it  must  be  remembered  are 
only  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain.  The  Sensations, 
therefore,  are  of  two  kinds,  and  of  these  alone.  They 
are  feelings  of  pleasure  of  every  character,  and  of  all  de- 
grees of  intensity,  from  the  slightest  and  hardly  discern- 
ible to  those  which  are  most  violent  and  excited ;  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  feelings  of  pain  of  equal  variety, 
and  of  corresponding  degrees  of  intensity. 

While  it  is  true  that  we  cannot  explain  the  mystery, 
its  object  and  value  are  readily  discernible.  These  feel- 
ings, springing  from  the  activities  of  the  body,  are  to 
bring  the  body  under  the  control  of  the  indwelling  Soul, 
to  protect  it  from  harm,  to  secure  proper  attention  to  its 
wants,  to  afiford  enjoyment  and  to  administer  discipline. 

The  great  principle,  or  law  according  to  which  the 
activities  of  the  body  have  their  reflex  in  the  feelings  of 
the  Soul  is,  that  which  is  detrimental  to  the  body  gives 
rise  to  feelings  of  pain,  the  suffering  being  greater,  or 
less,  according  as  the   detriment  is  greater  or  less,  and 


ISO  IV     SENSATION  s«c. 

Object  pleasure,  JSoWls  THIleltare, 


that  which  is  physically  beneficial  gives  rise  to  feelings 
of  pleasure  of  greater,  or  less  intensity,  according  to  the 
greater,  or  less  beneficent  character  of  the  bodily  activity. 
All  pain,  therefore,  is,  as  it  were,  a  danger  signal  and  a  call 
for  attention  and  care.  The  moment  we  have  a  feeling 
of  discomfort,  we  know  that  there  is  something  wrong. 
It  may  be  a  feeling  of  weariness ;  this  is  a  signal  that  we 
are  overtaxing  our  strength,  and  a  call  for  needed  rest — 
it  may  be  a  feeling  of  hunger,  or  thirst ;  here  again  is  a 
danger  signal,  the  body  is  suffering  from  the  want  of 
food  and  water,  and  calls  for  a  supply  of  these  necessities. 
If  these  feelings  of  fatigue,  hunger  and  thirst  are  ex- 
treme, it  is  because  the  body  is  in  extreme  want  of  rest, 
food  and  drink. 

It  is  manifest  that  were  it  not  for  these  feelings  of  dis- 
comfort, or  pain  we  would  never  be  aware  of  the  condi- 
tion of  our  body,  and  it  might  be  greatly  injured,  and 
even  die  because  of  our  ignorance  and  neglect. 

So  also  the  pains  arising  from  cuts  and  bruises,  and 
any  kind  of  injury,  and  from  sickness,  disease,  disorders 
make  the  presence  of  these  known,  and  prompt  us  to 
give  to  them  needed  attention  and  treatment.  Thus  the 
well-being  of  the  body  is  safe-guarded.  Were  not  ex- 
cessive heat  and  cold  accompanied  by  pain,  the  body 
might  readily  be  damaged,  or  destroyed  by  exposure  to 
them. 

The  same  thing  is  promoted  by  the  feelings  of  comfort 
and  of  pleasure,  arising  from  proper,  normal,  healthful 
conditions  of  our  bodily  organism.  These  feelings  often 
amounting  to  what  we  call  fulness  of  animal  spirits  and 
vigor,  the  very  joy  of  living,  give  us  the  assurance,  that 
it  is  all  right  and  well  with  us  physically,  and  prompt  us 
to  endeavor  to  keep  the  body  in  this  condition. 

It  may  be  further  noted,  that  so  true  is  it  that  the  re- 
flex feeling  of  the  harmful  is  pain,  and  of  the  beneficial  is 


I  BODILY  FEELING  151 

^Boral  Government  purely  Spiritual 


pleasure,  that  articles  of  food  and  drink,  which  are  good 
for  us  have  a  flavor,  which  is  agreeable,  or  pleasant,  while 
those  which  are  injurious  have  a  flavor  which  is  disagree- 
able or  offensive ;  another  illustration  of  the  safe-guard- 
ing of  the  body.  Again  the  sensations  have  a  most  im- 
portant bearing  upon  the  higher  interests  of  the  Soul. 
They  contribute  greatly  to  its  Moral  Government,  afford- 
ing a  system  of  rewards  and  punishments.  The  discipli- 
nary character  and  efficiency  of  bodily  pains  and  pleas- 
ures, penalties  and  rewards,  have  ever  been  recognized 
and  constantly  employed.  Indeed,  it  may  not  be  too 
much  to  say,  that  without  these  the  governing  and  train- 
ing of  individuals,  and  of  our  race  would  be  well  nigh 
impossible. 

We  have  endeavored  to  give  a  precise  and  correct  defi- 
nition of  the  Sensations,  and  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
they  are  purely  spiritual,  and  are  nothing  more  than  feel- 
ings within  the  Soul  of  pleasure  and  pain ;  belonging  to 
our  emotional  powers. 

All  this  must  be  most  distinctly  apprehended,  and  in 
all  our  discussions  of  the  Sensations  we  must  rigidly 
keep  ourselves  confined  within  the  limits  thus  laid  down. 
This,  however,  has  not  been  done  by  writers  and  teachers. 
The  view  which  has  always  prevailed  is  in  direct  violation 
of  the  definition,  which  we  have  given.  With  strange 
inconsistency  men  accept,  at  least  in  a  general  way,  the 
statement  that  the  Sensations  are  feelings,  and  yet  in- 
clude within  them  that,  which  is  not,  and  cannot  be 
regarded  as  feelings.  These  have  reference  solely  to 
pleasure  and  pain,  and  as  Sensations  are  feelings,  nothing 
can  be  included  within  them  except  the  various  kinds 
and  degrees  of  pleasure  and  pain.  With  one  accord, 
however,  color,  sound,  perfume,  flavor,  softness  and 
hardness,  roughness  and  smoothness  apprehended  by 
touch,  resistance  perceived  by  muscular  effort,  and  heat 


152  IV     SENSATION  Sbc. 

"  Senses  "  falsely  so  calleO 


and  cold  have  all  been  distinctly  defined  as  Sensations ; 
and  we,  it  is  affirmed,  have  the  five  Senses,  that  is  Sensa- 
tions, of  sight,  hearing,  smell,  taste  and  touch,  together 
with  a  sixth  more  recently  added,  the  muscular  sense. 
All  this  has  been  so  long  and  so  firmly  established  in  the 
minds  of  men,  it  has  been  so  thoroughly  regarded  as  in- 
disputable truth,  that  to  deny  it  may  seem,  at  first,  to  be 
the  wildest  kind  of  folly.  Yet  such  denial  must  be  dis- 
tinctly made.  These  five  or  six  so-called  Sensations  are 
in  no  way  whatever  Sensations,  and  the  five  or  six 
Senses,  which  we  are  said  to  have,  are  senses  falsely  so 
called. 

This  is  perfectly  evident. 
In  the  first  place,  Color,  perfume,  flavor,  sound, 
roughness  and  smoothness,  resistance  can  by  no  possi- 
bility be  regarded  as  different  kinds  and  degrees  of 
pleasure  and  pain.  The  mere  suggestion  of  such  a 
thing  is  a  manifest  absurdity.  We  are  not  now  speaking 
of  that  to  which  they  may  give  occasion,  or  to  which 
they  may  give  rise,  but  of  these  very  things  themselves. 
Nor  are  we  at  present  speaking  of  them  as  scientifically 
explained,  as  that  they  are  produced  by  vibrations  of  the 
Ether,  or  some  kind  of  chemical,  or  mechanical  activity. 
We  are  considering  that  which  is  within  our  actual  ex- 
perience, and  which  we  recognize  as  Color, — red,  yellow, 
blue  and  their  combinations  orange,  green,  purple, 
white, — the  perfume  of  the  violet,  the  rose, — the  flavor 
of  the  peach,  of  the  lemon,  of  sugar — the  sound  of  human 
speech,  of  music,  and  the  unnumbered  voices  of  Nature, 
— the  actual  character  of  surfaces  revealed  to  us  by 
touch, — resistance  offered  to  muscular  effort.  We  sim- 
ply ask,  what  are  these  things  which  we  thus  name,  with 
which  we  are  all  so  familiar  in  our  every-day  experience 
and  which  by  irresistible  impulse,  and  invariable  convic- 
tion are  universally  regarded  by  men  as  existing  through 


BODILY  FEELING  153 

I.  "flot  pleadure  ano  Pain 


the  entire  realm  of  Nature.  The  sky  is  itself  blue,  the 
grass  and  the  trees  are  themselves  green,  the  snow  itself 
is  white,  the  far-ofif  sun  and  moon  are  golden, — the 
sweetness  is  in  the  violet  and  rose,  the  flavor  is  in  the 
fruit,  the  myriad  voices  of  Nature  are  themselves  every- 
where present  throughout  its  entire  realm,  surfaces  have 
the  peculiar  character  which  we  suppose  they  have,  there 
is  actual  force  resisting  our  muscular  energy.  When  we 
think  of  these  familiar  things,  prevailing  everywhere 
around  about  us,  and  afar  ofif  to  greatest  distances,  ac- 
cording to  the  common  judgment  of  mankind,  we  may 
well  ask  by  what  possibility  can  these  things  themselves 
be  included  within  our  Sensations,  and  thus  made  to  be 
feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain,  emotions  within  the  Soul, 
purely  spiritual  in  nature  and  character? 

This  is  the  inevitable  result,  if  these  things  be  classi- 
fied among  the  Sensations,  and  if  we  attribute  to  our- 
selves the  five,  or  six  so  called  senses.  Red,  yellow  and 
blue,  the  sweetness  of  blossoms  and  flowers,  the  rich 
flavor  of  fruits,  the  sounds  re-echoing  through  Nature 
have  no  external  reality,  they  are  emotions  of  pleasure 
and  pain  within  the  soul  of  man,  and  the  world  is  de- 
spoiled of  her  own  inherent  beauty,  loveliness,  and 
music,  her  spangled  heavens,  her  dome  of  blue,  her  gar- 
ment of  many  colors,  her  rainbow  tints,  her  glories  of 
sunrise  and  sunset  are  taken  from  her,  her  many  voices 
hushed  and  perfect  universal  silence  made  to  reign  per- 
petually. 

In  the  second  place.  It  is  evidently  impossible  to  re- 
gard these  things  as  Sensations  because  to  do  so  is  to 
ignore  the  fundamental  distinction  between  the  spiritual 
and  the  material  and  to  attribute  qualities,  or  affections 
which  belong  to  the  latter  of  these  to  the  former.  These 
things  are  realities  and  being  such  they  must  be  the 
qualities,  or  affections  of  either  the  one  or  the  other  of 


154  IV     SENSATION  Sk. 

2.  Tlot  Spiritualt  but  Coq^^ 


the  only  two  substances.  They  must  belong  either  to 
the  spiritual,  or  to  the  material ;  it  is  impossible  that  they 
should  belong  to  both.  The  simple  question,  therefore, 
is  to  which  of  the  two  substances  are  we  to  attribute 
them. 

The  mere  statement  of  the  case  reveals  the  absurdity 
of  attributing  them  to  the  Soul.  If  they  are  qualities,  or 
affections  of  the  Soul,  the  Soul  itself  must  have  their 
very  character.  If  we  affirm  that  color,  such  as  red, 
yellow,  blue  are  qualities  of  the  Soul,  the  Soul  is  itself  a 
red,  yellow,  or  blue  soul,  when  and  according  as  it  has 
the  experience  of  these  colors.  If  we  affirm  that  per- 
fume is  a  sensation,  or  emotion  of  the  Soul,  and  hence 
one  of  its  qualities,  or  affections,  the  Soul  itself  must  be 
possessed  of  and  redolent  with  the  various  perfumes  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  according  as  it  experiences  one,  or 
more  of  them.  If  flavor  be  a  quality  of  the  Soul,  the 
Soul  must  itself  be  flavored  with  the  flavor  of  the  peach, 
of  the  lemon,  and  must  itself  have  the  sweetness  of  sugar, 
when  we  experience  these  flavors.  If  sound  be  a  sensa- 
tion, it  also  must  be  a  quality  of  the  Soul  and  the  Soul 
itself  must  be  sounding  with  every  sound  whatever  it  be, 
which  we  experience  ;  thus  we  would  have  a  loud  sound- 
ing or  low  sounding  soul,  a  sweet,  or  a  harsh  sounding 
soul.  Here  we  might  add,  that  we  would  also  have  a 
hot  soul,  and  a  cold  soul ;  if  heat  and  cold  be  sensations 
and  hence  spiritual  qualities.  The  statement  of  these 
manifest  absurdities  reveals  them  as  such.  Being  stated, 
they  are  regarded  as  absurd  by  the  universal  judgment  of 
mankind.  No  one  would  for  one  moment  be  persuaded 
to  believe,  that  when  we  look  upon  the  beautiful  red  and 
fragrant  Rose,  the  beauty,  color  and  fragrance  are  not  in 
the  Rose  but  in  the  Soul ;  that  it  is  the  Soul  itself  that 
is  beautifully  red  and  sweetly  fragrant. 

The  reason  why  these  statements  are  manifestly  absurd 


BODILY  FEELING  155 

ni3Cd  as  /Iftatccial  Qualities 


according  to  the  common  judgment  of  men,  is  because 
they  by  infallible,  intuitive  cognition  perceive  the  real 
and  true  character  of  these  five,  or  six  so-called  sensa- 
tions. They  immediately  recognize  them  as  belonging 
to  the  material  world,  as  being  qualities  of  that  which  is 
material.  Men,  therefore,  at  once  perceive  the  absurdity 
of  attributing  to  the  Soul  qualities  which  belong  only  to 
and  inhere  only  within  the  substance  which  we  call 
Matter. 

It  is  by  infallible,  intuitive  cognition  that  we  draw  the 
line  of  separation  between  the  spiritual  and  material  sub- 
stances; a  demarcation,  which  is  absolutely  essential  for 
all  true  knowledge  and  science.  And  it  is  by  this  same 
cognition  that  we  place  the  qualities,  of  which  we  are 
speaking,  among  the  qualities  belonging  to  the  external 
material  world.  Hence  it  is  if  we  rank  them  among  our 
Sensations,  which  are  purely  spiritual,  we  not  only  ignore 
the  essential  distinction  between  spirit  and  matter,  but 
actually  confuse  them  together,  by  attributing  the  quali- 
ties of  the  one  to  the  other. 

Men  are  actually  guilty  of  making  this  fatal  confusion. 
They  affirm  that  these  qualities,  color,  etc.,  are  sensa- 
tions, that  is  qualities  of  the  Soul,  and  having  done  this, 
they  make  their  error  a  double  one  by  referring  them 
back  again  as  qualities  of  the  material  world.  This  by 
very  necessity  they  are  compelled  to  do ;  for  the  only 
conception,  which  we  have,  or  can  have  of  the  world,  is 
that  which  is  composed  of  these  five,  or  six  so-called 
sensations.     Take  this  away  and  all  is  a  perfect  blank. 

In  the  third  place.  The  reference  of  that,  which  we 
perceive  by  our  so-called  senses,  to  our  Sensations  is 
due  to  the  failure  of  proper  insight  and  discrimination 
and  want  of  correct  analysis.  Men  have  signally  and 
strangely  failed  to  discern  the  true  nature  of  that  which 
is  before  them,  for  study  and  explanation.     Our  Percep- 


156  IV      SENSATION  Sec. 

3.  JBoOilB  afiections  /Dbatcrial 


tion  of  the  External  World  is  of  a  complicated  character. 
To  understand  it  aright ;  there  are  three  discriminations 
to  be  made.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  the  external 
world  which  lies  outside  of  and  beyond  our  bodies ;  in 
the  second  place,  we  have  the  external  world  formed  by 
and  consisting  of  our  bodily  organisms  ;  this  is  as  truly 
the  world  of  the  non-ego,  as  the  former  one  is ;  in  the 
third  place,  we  must  recognize  the  presence  of  both  per- 
ception and  sensation,  and  perceive  the  true  character  of 
each  of  these.  The  great  fault  of  men  has  been  their 
failure  to  make  and  appreciate  these  distinctions. 

The  external  world  being  outside  of  and  beyond  our 
bodies  is,  of  course,  fully  recognized  as  such.  But  it  is 
otherwise  in  regard  to  the  perception  of  the  external 
world,  which  is  within  and  which  consists  of  our  bodily 
organism.  It  has  not  been  fully  and  distinctly  treated 
as  belonging  to  the  material  world,  the  ?ion-ego.  It  is 
indeed  in  vital  union  with  the  indwelling  Soul  and,  in  no 
mean  sense,  is  a  part  of  ourselves,  yet  it  is  itself  a  truly 
material  organism  and  all  its  qualities  and  affections  are 
of  a  strictly  material  character.  These,  however,  in  the 
words  and  thoughts  of  men  seem  to  be  attributed  at  one 
time  to  the  Soul,  and  at  another  to  the  mere  body  itself. 
Repeatedly  men  seem  to  have  thought,  that  by  showing 
something  to  be  a  bodily  affection,  they  thereby  showed 
it  to  be  subjective,  that  is  an  affection  of  the  Soul.  If, 
for  example,  they  regard  what  we  call  heat  and  cold  as 
feelings  of  the  body,  they  seem  at  once  to  refer  them  to 
the  Soul  as  affections  belonging  to  it,  making  them 
thoroughly  subjective,  and  saying  "7  feel  hot,"  or  "/ 
feel  cold,"  and  even  "/  am  hot,"  or  "/  am  cold,"  as 
though  the  very  Ego  itself  were  hot,  or  cold. 

And  so  also  with  the  other  so-called  sensations.  They 
are  first  made  sensations  of  the  body  and  then  transferred 
to  feelings  of  the  Soul.     So  definitely  has  this  been  done, 


BODILY  FEELING  157 

Mrondls  made  Spiritual 


that  it  has  been  said,  that  were  our  bodies  furnished  with 
new  sensations  to  be  excited,  or  called  into  play  by  the 
influence  of  the  external  world  upon  them,  our  exper- 
ience would  thereby  be  enlarged  and  enriched,  the  new 
experience,  except  as  to  exciting  influence,  would  be 
purely  bodily  and  subjective.  Whereas,  it  should  be  said, 
were  we  gifted  with  new  powers  of  cognizing  the  real- 
ities of  the  external  world,  our  experience  would  thereby 
be  enlarged  and  enriched  by  new  knowledge  of  that 
world,  and  by  the  reflex  emotions  within  the  Soul,  due 
to  such  deeper  and  fuller  knowledge. 

We  mention  these  two  contrasted  suppositions  to  show 
the  two  different  points  of  view,  the  false  and  the  true. 
The  first  may  be  designated  ''Sensational;''  the  second 
as  "  The  Cognition  of  Realities."  Also  to  emphasize  the 
fact,  that  the  body  with  all  its  qualities  and  affections 
must  be  carefully  and  rigidly  discriminated  from  the  Soul, 
as  belonging  to  the  world  of  the  Non-Ego,  and  that  the 
so  called  sensations,  even  though  they  were  mere  affec- 
tions of  the  body,  which  they  are  not,  would  not  and 
could  not  be  feelings  of  the  Soul,  they  would  belong  to 
the  external  material  world,  the  true  nature  of  Sensations 
being  distinctly  borne  in  mind ;  they  are  purely  spiritual, 
being  simply  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain. 

Men  have  also  failed  to  understand  and  analyze  aright 
our  acts  of  external  perception.  Proper  observation 
will  show,  that  in  all  such  acts  there  are  two  elements 
present.  The  one  is  the  cognition  of  external  reality; 
the  other  is  a  feeling  of  pleasure,  or  pain.  Of  these  two 
the  former  is  the  all  important  and  the  pronounced  one ; 
the  latter,  in  all  ordinary  and  normal  acts,  is  altogether 
inferior  and  subordinate.  The  former  is  true  external 
perception,  the  latter,  the  feeling  of  pleasure,  or  pain,  is 
sensation.  Men  have  signally  failed  to  observe  and  make 
this  distinction,  and  have  regarded  both  of  these  as  be- 


iS8  IV    SENSATION  sec. 

Cognftlon  anJ>  "  pleasure  anO 


longing  to  our  sensations.  Hence  it  is  that  color,  sound, 
perfume,  flavor,  heat  and  cold,  touch,  etc.,  have  all  been 
placed  among  the  sensations,  instead  of  being  regarded 
as  perceived  realities  of  the  external,  material  world. 

Abundant  and  self-evident  illustrations  may  readily  be 
given,  showing  the  presence  of  cognition  and  the  feeling 
of  pleasure  or  pain  in  our  acts  of  external  perception, 
and  the  true  nature  of  both  of  these  according  to  the  in- 
fallible testimony  of  Consciousness.  Thus,  for  example, 
by  sight  we  at  once  perceive  color,  such  as  red,  yellow, 
blue,  etc.,  and  have  in  some  measure  a  feeling  of  pleas- 
ure or  pain  in  so  doing.  That  the  color  is  an  objective 
reality  is  the  distinct  affirmation  of  Consciousness.  It  is 
cognized  always  as  external,  as  having  outline,  or  shape, 
as  of  greater  or  smaller  size  and  as  capable  of  and  pos- 
sessing motion;  it  is  also  distinctly  recognized  as  a  qual- 
ity of  that  which  is  material.  With  this  cognition  of  an 
external  reality,  we  have  a  feeling  of  pleasure,  or  pain. 
The  familiar  proverb  expresses  it,  "  It  is  a  joyful  thing 
for  the  eyes  to  behold  the  light  of  the  sun."  It  is  dis- 
agreeable and  painful  to  be  shut  up  in  the  dark.  Light 
of  a  certain  tone  of  coloring  and  of  a  certain  character 
and  degree  of  brightness  is  pleasant  and  welcome,  while 
light  of  a  different  tone  of  coloring  and  brightness  is  un- 
pleasant, and  may  be  very  trying  and  painful,  we  instinct- 
ively shield  our  eyes  from  it.  It  is  too  painful  for  us  to 
gaze  steadily  at  the  electric  arc-light,  or  at  the  unclouded 
noon-day  sun.  So  also  some  colors  and  combinations  of 
colors  afford  pleasure,  and  other  colors,  and  combinations 
of  colors  are  unpleasant  and  annoying.  All  this  is  self- 
€vi^ently  true  and  is  in  accord  with  the  common  judg- 
ment of  all  men.  In  vision  we  have  the  cognition  of 
external  reality  and  a  greater  or  less  feeling  of  pleasure 
or  pain.  The  former  is  perception,  the  latter  sensation ; 
they  are  and  must  be  kept,  distinct  and  separate. 


BODILY  FEELING  159 

Ipain"  in  jEitcrnal  perception 


Precisely  the  same  thing  is  manifestly  true  in  regard 
to  other  acts  of  external  perception.  Thus  the  infinitely 
numerous  and  varied  sounds  and  combinations  of  sounds, 
which  come  to  our  ears  we  cognize  as  objective  realities, 
and  we  experience  as  something  distinct  from  the  sounds 
themselves  the  feeling  of  pleasure  or  pain,  according  to 
the  character  and  intensity  of  the  sounds.  Some  sounds 
being  of  such  a  character,  that  they  are  grateful  and 
pleasant  to  us ;  pure  tones  and  true  music  affording  in- 
tense, joyful,  inspiriting  emotions,  and  sounds  of  a  differ- 
ent kind  are  distressing,  disagreeable,  painful. 

The  innumerable  perfumes,  which  reach  the  nose,  are 
also  cognized  as  external  realities,  and  are  pleasant,  or 
offensive  according  to  their  character  and  the  way  in 
which  they  affect  us  ;  some  persons  delighting  in  certain 
perfumes,  and  others  having  a  preference  for  perfumes  of 
a  different  kind. 

By  tongue  and  lip  we  cognize  the  various  flavors  with 
which  we  are  familiar,  and  in  so  doing  have  a  pleasant, 
or  offensive  feeling,  according  to  the  character  of  the 
flavors. 

By  touch  and  by  muscular  energy  we  cognize  objective 
realities  and  their  character  as  rough  and  smooth,  large 
and  small,  round  and  angular,  having  force  and  motion, 
as  hot  and  cold,  and  with  this  we  experience  pleasure  or 
pain,  according  to  the  character  of  these  external  things. 

Thus  it  is  self-evidently  true  that  proper  discrimination, 
insight,  and  analysis  will  prevent  us  from  confounding 
perceptions  and  sensations,  and  from  regarding  and 
enumerating  the  five  or  six  so-called  sensations,  color, 
sound,  etc.,  as  such. 

In  the  fourth  place.  If  color,  sound,  perfume,  etc.,  be 
sensations,  there  is  no  escape  from  Idealism.  The  posi- 
tive and  distinct  testimony  of  Consciousness  is,  that  these 
things  are  the  qualities  of  the  objective  external,  material 


i6o  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

4.  lOcaliBm  5.  Biternal  tt»ct= 


world ;  there  is  a  blue  sky  over  our  heads ;  there  are 
radiant  glories  of  sunrise  and  sunset  on  the  heavens  of 
the  far-off  eastern  and  western  horizons  ;  green  is  spread 
as  a  carpet  upon  our  lawns  and  fields  and  we  tread  upon 
it  with  our  feet ;  the  color  and  the  sweetness  are  in  the 
Rose,  which  we  hold  at  arm's  length,  and  we  cognize 
them  both  ;  sounds,  rising,  falling,  varied,  belonging  to 
and  characteristic  of  the  world,  come  to  us  from  every 
quarter.  Such  is  the  testimony  of  Consciousness,  and  if 
this  be  rejected  the  foundation  of  all  knowledge  is 
destroyed.  This  is  the  only  assurance  that  we  have  of 
the  reality  of  the  external  zvorld.  If  these  qualities  be 
subjective  and  ideal,  such  also  is  the  world,  except  as 
an  assumed,  or  supposed  occult  cause  of  these  affections 
within  ourselves.  It  is  doubtful  if  we  even  could  affirm 
the  reality  of  any  such  cause,  or  of  any  externality  what- 
ever. And,  as  our  only  conception  of  the  external  world 
is  that  which  is  composed  of  these  qualities,  that  concep- 
tion must  itself  be  purely  ideal,  if  such  be  their  character. 

We  are  thus  manifestly  shut  up  to  '' Idealisfn,''  if  we 
regard  the  so-called  sensations,  as  truly  such. 

In  the  Jifth  place,  we  cannot  regard  these  qualities  as 
sensations  and  accept  the  true  view  of  External  Per- 
ception, which  is  that  we  have  an  intuitive,  immediate, 
infallible  cognition  of  external  realities  themselves.  By 
consciousness  we  see  that  which  is. 

This  theory  of  External  Perception  requires,  and  is 
founded  upon  the  supposition,  that  color,  sound,  per- 
fume etc.  are  themselves  qualities  of  the  external  world ; 
to  make  them  sensations  is  to  destroy  the  theory. 

It  seems  almost  incredible  that  such  men  as  Reid, 
Stewart,  Hamilton,  McCosh  and  others,  who  with  great 
praise  and  credit  to  themselves  have  wrought  out  this 
doctrine  of  External  Perception,  should  have  destroyed 
the  beautiful  work  of  their  own  hands  by  their  inconsis- 


II  LOCALIZING  OF  SENSATIONS  i6i 

ception  (Slueetion 


tent  theory  of  Sense-Perception,  Sensations  and  the 
Primary  and  Secondary  QuaHties  of  Matter.  If  our 
bodily  organs  are  organs  of  Sense,  if  that  which  we  per- 
ceive by  them  be  through  sensations,  and  if  these  be 
wrought  in  us  by  occult  secondary  qualities  of  matter, 
the  doctrine  of  the  immediate  cognition  of  the  external 
world  is  destroyed.  The  only  explanation  of  the  enigma 
is,  that  these  men  in  arising  from  the  errors  of  the  past, 
failed  to  free  themselves  perfectly  therefrom  and  to  stand 
in  the  full  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  light  of  their 
own  kindling. 

Section  II     The  Localizing  of  Sensations 

The  simple  and  familiar  fact  is,  that  when  we  have  the 
feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain,  we  at  once  locate  them  in 
their  various  places  in  the  body.  We  do  this  correctly 
and  without  thought,  or  hesitation.  Thus  we  say,  "I 
have  a  pain  in  my  head;"  "I  have  a  pain  in  my  foot,  or 
hand,  or  arm,  shoulder,  or  back,"  etc.  Here  the  inter- 
esting, but  difficult  question  presents  itself — "How  do 
we  do  this?"  When  the  Soul  has  the  sensation  of  a 
pain,  or  pleasure,  how  does  it  know  from  what  part  of 
the  body  it  comes? 

The  prevailing  explanation  is  mystic,  complicated,  un- 
scientific and  altogether  unsatisfactory.  The  Theory  is 
that  the  Soul,  confined  within  some  innermost  cell  of 
the  brain,  is  in  communication  with  every  part,  or  point 
of  the  body  by  an  innumerable  multitude  of  nerve  fila- 
ments. When  an  impression  of  any  kind  is  made  upon 
the  extremity  of  one  of  these,  it  is  immediately  carried 
to  the  brain  and  there  communicated  to  the  Soul ;  the 
Soul  having  this  experience,  refers  it  back  to  the  part,  or 
point  of  the  body  at  the  extremity  of  the  affected  nerve. 

In  this  there  is  no  explanation  of  the  difficulty;  not 
even  an  attempt  to  give  one.  The  simple  statement  is 
II 


i62  IV     SENSATION  Skc. 

prevatling  ^beocv? 


made,  that  the  Soul,  having  received  an  impression, 
localizes  it  at  the  extremity  of  the  affected  nerve.  But 
the  question  is  how  does  it  know  from  what  part  of  the 
body  that  particular  nerve  comes?  The  Soul,  situated 
at  some  point  in  the  brain,  is  supposed  to  be  in  com- 
munication with  an  innumerable  multitude  of  nerves ; 
these  are  essentially  all  alike,  how  does  the  Soul  differ- 
entiate them?  How  does  it  do  this  so  definitely  and 
accurately  that,  notwithstanding  their  great  multitude 
and  similarity,  the  moment  any  one  of  them  is  affected, 
the  Soul  knows  from  what  part  of  the  complex  body 
that  nerve  comes,  whether  it  comes  from  the  extremity 
of  the  right,  or  of  the  left  foot,  or  from  a  particular 
finger  of  the  right,  or  left  hand,  or  from  some  nearby 
point  on  the  face,  as  the  forehead,  or  chin.  One  would 
suppose  that  the  Soul  would  be  in  a  perfect  maze  of  in- 
extricable bewilderment.  To  differentiate,  assort,  ar- 
range these  innumerable  minute  nerve  filaments  and 
become  perfectly  familiar  with  each  separate  one  would 
be  a  Chinese-Puzzle  of  the  most  intricate  and  insolvable 
character. 

Indeed,  it  would  seem  that  the  Soul  is  left  altogether 
destitute  of  means  of  distinguishing  between  the  nerve 
filaments  and  of  determining  from  whence  they  come. 
At  least  no  such  means  is  mentioned,  or  suggested. 
This  is  the  reason  why  we  have  called  this  theory 
"mystic,"  all  is  left  mysterious.  The  Soul  is  endowed 
with  some  kind  of  mystic,  or  supernatural  power,  or  in- 
sight by  which,  shut  up  within  a  deep  recess  of  the 
brain,  it  knows  the  location  in  the  body  of  the  extremity 
of  each  of  the  innumerable  nerve  filaments  presented  to 
it.  Certainly  nothing  by  way  of  explanation  could  be 
more  unsatisfactory  than  this. 

Moreover,  this  theory  is  altogether  gratuitous  and  has 
no  foundation  in  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  and 


II  LOCALIZING  OF  SENSATIONS  163 

jflRSStic,  TUnscientiflc 


hence  is  unscientific.  Consciousness  knows  nothing  of 
the  transmission  of  feelings  from  the  extremities  of 
nerves  to  the  brain,  of  their  communication  there  to  the 
Soul  and  of  their  reference  back  to  the  nerve  extremities 
from  whence  they  come.  Consciousness  knows  nothing 
of  innumerable  nerve  filaments  with  which  the  Soul  has 
to  deal.  It  knows  nothing  of  the  division  of  the  brain 
into  two  hemispheres,  the  right  and  the  left ;  the  one  for 
the  nervous  system  of  the  one  side  of  the  body  and  the 
other  for  the  nervous  system  of  the  other  side :  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  to  all,  when  told,  that,  contrary  to 
natural  expectations,  the  left-side  hemisphere  of  the 
brain  is  for  the  right  side  of  the  body  and  the  right-side 
hemisphere  for  the  left  side.  A  fact  which,  altogether 
unknown,  would  seriously  add  to  the  difficulty  and  be- 
wilderment of  the  Soul,  which  we  have  mentioned. 

We  certainly  throw  no  discredit  whatever  upon  the 
achievements  of  "Anatomy"  and  "Physiology"  in  un- 
folding the  wonderful  construction  and  activities  of  our 
bodily  organism.  These  are  perfectly  m.arvellous.  Noth- 
ing can  be  more  admirable  than  our  intricate  and  com- 
plicated nervous  system,  with  its  innumerable  and  finely 
divided  nerve  filaments,  ganglia,  nerves,  cords  and  cells, 
with  the  curiously  constructed  brain.  And  we  may  most 
readily  admit,  that  all  these  are  bound  together  as  a  unit 
and  that  there  is  a  nervous  force,  excitement,  or  activity 
flowing,  or  pulsating,  as  it  were,  throughout  it  all  and 
that,  the  brain  being  the  great  centre  and  base  of  the 
whole  system,  supplying,  maintaining,  controlling  and 
unifying  the  nerve  force,  whenever  there  is  excitation  of 
any  nerve  extremity  there  is  an  impulse  communicated 
to  the  brain  and  a  return  impulse  received  from  it :  and 
that  this  is  so  definite  and  real,  that  the  time  for  the  pas- 
sage of  the  impulse  from  extremity  to  brain  and  return 
may  be  and  has  been  measured. 


i64  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

Zbe  Zvne  Bjplanatlon 


But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  all  this  is  purely  phy- 
sical, material;  it  belongs  to  the  world  of  the  "non- 
ego"  and  although  the  Soul  is  in  vital  union  with  it, 
controls,  guides  and  utilizes  it,  it  must  not  be  allowed 
to  fashion  and  determine  our  conception  of  the  Soul,  of 
its  powers  and  its  activities. 

Because  there  is  upon  the  excitation  of  a  nerve  extrem- 
ity, a  nervous  impulse  to  and  from  the  brain,  it  by  no 
means  follows  that  there  is  a  transmission  of  an  impulse 
which  is  or  becomes  a  Reeling  of  pleasiire  ox  pain,  along 
the  nerve  to  the  Soul  within  the  brain,  and  the  reference 
by  the  Soul  of  the  feeling  back  to  the  nerve  extremity. 
The  difficulty  and  absurdity  of  such  a  supposition  we 
have  pointed  out.  The  qualities,  affections  and  activities 
of  the  body  are  in  themselves  material  and  must  be  dis- 
tinctly and  rigidly  kept  separate  from  those  of  the  Soul, 
which  are  purely  spiritual.  To  know  and  understand 
these  latter,  we  must  learn  from  and  depend  upon  the 
Testimony  of  Consciousness.  Rejecting,  therefore,  the 
prevailing  theory  of  the  localizing  of  the  Sensations  as 
untenable,  we  turn  to  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness 
for  the  true  explanation. 

We  have  already  pointed  out,  that  according  to  this 
Testimony,  the  Soul  is  omnipresent  within  the  human 
body.  It  is  not  something  extended  and  diffused  and 
thusjspread  out  over,  or  through  the  body,  but  it  is  its 
own  one,  indivisible  self  that  is  at  once  every  where  pres- 
ent within  the  body ;  as  truly  in  the  feet  and  hands  and 
elsewhere,  as  in  the  head  or  brain  itself. 

Beingljthus  omnipresent,  the  Soul  cognizes,  or  takes 
knowledge  of  the  body ;  by  touch  and  visual  perception 
of  its  own  body  and  by  handling  and  seeing  the  bodies 
of  its  fellow-beings  it  becomes  perfectly  and  intimately 
familiar  with  every  part,  feature,  member,  joint,  etc.,  of 
the  body.     It  knows  its  size,  its  shape,  its  movements, 


II  LOCALIZING  OF  SENSATIONS  165 

©mnipresent  Cognitfon 


its  capacities,  its  activities.  It  is  true  that  there  are  cer- 
tain parts  of  our  body  with  which  we  are  not  so  well  ac- 
quainted. But  this  is  because  they  are  in  a  measure  shut 
off  from  our  powers  of  perceptio7i  ;  we  cannot  handle 
and  see  them.  These  internal  organs,  such  as  the  heart, 
the  stomach,  kidneys,  etc.,  have  been  made  more  def- 
initely known  by  the  teachings  of  "anatomy."  But  even 
of  these  we  are  not  wholly  ignorant,  they  in  some  meas- 
ure reveal  themselves  to  our  perceptions. 

Being  thus  familiar  with  the  bodily  organism  and 
everywhere  present  within  it,  the  Soul  experiences  a 
feeling  of  ease,  contentment,  pleasure,  animation,  which 
is  the  Reflex  of  the  healthy  and  vigorous  activity  of  the 
body. 

"  It  is  sweet  to  breathe  freely  the  balmy  air, 

And  walk  where  we  will  at  morn,  eve  or  noon, 
When  the  step  keeps  time  with  the  bounding  heart, 
And  the  strings  of  life  are  all  in  tune." 

And  it  experiences  a  feeling  of  depression,  distress, 
which  is  the  Reflex  of  a  general  disorder  of  the  body. 
The  Soul  is  conscious  of  this  twofold  experience,  and 
recognizes  its  character,  as  a  physical  feeling,  that  is  as 
one  arising  from  the  state  of  the  body. 

And  as  with  the  body  in  general,  so  also  in  regard  to 
its  various  parts  and  members.  Present  within  each  one 
of  these,  it  takes  cognizance  of  its  character,  condition, 
activity  and  experiences  a  feeling  of  pleasure  or  pain,  as 
these  are  of  one  kind,  or  another  and  by  touch,  sight, 
movement,  experiment  it  obtains  deeper  insight  and 
fuller  knowledge  of  the  feeling  and  confirmation  of  its 
assurance  of  its  place,  or  point  of  origin.  Thus,  for 
example,  if  we  have  a  cut,  or  a  sting  on  the  tip  of  the 
little  finger,  the  Soul,  present  at  the  finger  end,  perceives 
that  something  has  there  touched  and  wounded  the 
body ;  it  feels  the  pain  and,  upon  looking,  sees  the  mark 


i66  IV     SENSATION  sec. 

presentation  of  Iknown  ffacte 


and  by  touching  and  pressing  it  with  another  finger  in- 
creases the  pain  and  determines  the  exact  spot.  Or  if 
our  hands  and  feet  be  too  hot,  or  too  cold,  the  Soul, 
being  within  the  hands  and  feet,  cognizes  the  degree  of 
heat  and  cold  and  experiences  the  reflex  discomfort  or 
pain  arising  therefrom. 

To  sum  up  all  and  give  a  definite  and  concise  state- 
ment, we  may  say  that  we  localize  our  Sensations 
through  the  omnipresence  of  the  Soul,  in  virtue  of  which 
it  is  present  in  the  affected  part,  or  member  of  the  body, 
cognizing  its  character,  condition  and  activity  and  there 
experiencing  the  reflex  feeling  of  pleasure,  or  pain  aris- 
ing therefrom. 

We  fully  acknowledge,  that  we  herein  have  a  deep 
mystery,  altogether  beyond  our  power  of  understanding. 
But  this  explanation  has  the  advantage  that  it  is  the  pre- 
sentation of  known  facts ;  facts  known  by  the  Testimony 
of  Consciousness ;  that  it  is  a  statement  of  that  which 
may  readily  be  conceived  of  as  real ;  the  conception  is  a 
very  simple  one,  that  of  the  Soul's  presence  throughout 
the  body  taking  cognizance  of  its  every  part ;  and  that  it 
is  in  wonderful  accord  with  "  common-sense,"  that  is  the 
ordinary  opinion  of  men.  If  they  have  a  pain  in  the 
head,  the  hand  or  the  foot,  they  will  afiirm  "  I  know  it  is 
there,  because  I  k^ww  it.''  They  cognize  the  fact;  this 
is  their  simple  and  only  Consciousness.  All  this  is  in 
striking  contrast  to  the  difficulties  connected  with  the 
prevailing  theory  which  deals  with  assu?ned  facts  for 
which  there  is  no  testimony  of  Consciousness,  presents 
that  of  the  possible  reality  of  which  we  can  form  no  con- 
ception and  is  contrary  to  the  ideas  of  ordinary  men. 

Section  III     Primary  and  Secondary  Qualities 

The  division  of  the  qualities  of  Matter  into  Primary 
and    Secondary  should  be  laid  aside  as  unfounded  and 


Ill  PRIMARY  AND  SECONDARY  QUALITIES  167 
TUnfounOcD— IKIlronfl 


useless.  It  was  devised,  and  has  been  maintained  for  the 
sake  of  the  prevailing  theory  of  Sensation  and  Sense 
Perception  and  of  course  falls  together  with  it. 

According  to  this  division,  the  Primary  Qualities  are 
those  which  belong  to  material  objects  in  themselves; 
the  Secondary  are  those  having  reference  to  our  organ- 
ism, those  which  are  the  occasion,  or  cause  of  our  sensa- 
tions, such  as  color,  sound,  perfume,  heat,  etc.,  but  are 
in  no  respect  like  unto  them. 

This  is  contrary  to  the  testimony  of  Consciousness, 
which  affirms  that  these  so-called  Secondary  Qualities 
belong  to  the  material  objects  in  the  same  sense  as  do 
the  Primary  Qualities.  As  I  sit  by  my  fire  and  perceive 
the  warmth  in  my  limbs,  I  know  that  the  heat  is  also  in 
the  fire  itself  and  more  so  than  it  is  in  my  limbs,  because 
there  it  is  the  more  intense ;  the  nearer  I  draw  to  the  fire 
the  greater  is  the  heat,  and  because  it  is  from  the  fire 
that  I  obtain  the  heat,  which  I  perceive;  which  I  cognize 
as  an  objective  reality.  We  have,  however,  already 
dwelt  upon  this  testimony  of  Consciousness. 

In  the  second  place — The  division  of  the  Qualities  of 
Matter  into  Primary  and  Secondary  is  wrong  in  itself 
and  rests  upon  a  false  principle.  It  supposes  a  distinc- 
tion between  the  body  and  other  material  objects,  which 
does  not  exist.  It  assumes  that  these  objects  act  upon 
the  body  as  they  do  not  on  one  another;  that  the  body 
does  not  act  upon  them  as  they  act  upon  it,  and  as  ma- 
terial things  act  and  react  together.  Or,  in  other  words, 
the  assumption  is  that  the  body  does  not  strictly  belong 
to  the  material  world,  the  world  of  the  non-ego. 

When  we  claim  that  other  objects  act  upon  the  body, 
as  they  do  upon  one  another,  it  is  not  meant  that  the 
effects  are  altogether  the  same.  The  effects  of  the  inter- 
action of  objects  are  as  varied  as  are  the  objects  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  act.     The  meaning    is, 


i68  IV     SENSATION  skc. 

Destructive  Contusion 


that  all  these  activities  are  of  material  forces  and  laws. 
These  forces  act  within  the  body  under  the  influence  of 
the  indwelling  Soul,  but  the  peculiar  effects,  thus  pro- 
duced, are  as  truly  material  as  are  those  resulting  from 
electricity,  steam,  etc.,  as  utilized  by  man. 

In  the  third  place.  The  principle  upon  which  the 
Division  rests  is  false,  because  it  involves  the  confusion 
of  the  spiritual  and  the  material.  The  Secondary  Quali- 
ties are  supposed  to  afifect  the  living  organism.  But  the 
affection  does  not  belong  to  the  organism  itself,  as  it  is 
not  sensitive,  but  to  the  Soul,  for  it  is  the  Soul  which 
feels  it  and  apart  from  the  feeling  of  the  Soul  it  has  no 
reality,  there  is  nothing  in  the  body,  nor  in  the  world 
which  corresponds  with  it.  But  at  the  same  time  it  is 
not  an  affection  of  the  Soul,  but  an  affection  of  the 
organism,  because  it  is  the  organism  which  is  affected 
by  the  secondary  qualities  and  apart  from  it  the  affection 
thus  produced  cannot  be.  It  seems  to  be  a  '' tertium 
quid,''  something  which  is  neither  material,  nor  spiritual. 
It  is  not  a  quality  of  the  body,  nor  is  it  a  quality  of  the 
Soul,  and  it  is  a  quality  of  the  body  because  it  is  an 
affection  of  it  and  it  is  a  quality  of  the  Soul,  because  it 
is  a  feeling  of  the  Soul. 

Here  certainly  we  have  confusion  which  is  thoroughly 
destructive. 

The  confusion  is  all  the  more  apparent  from  the  dis- 
tinct affirmation,  that  it  is  not  the  dead,  but  the  living 
organism  which  is  affected  by  the  Secondary  Qualities ; 
these  produce  no  sensations,  or  affections  in  the  dead 
body.  But  what  is  Life  ?  What  is  the  living  organism 
and  to  what  do  its  affections  belong?  Are  they  the 
affections  of  that  which  is  material,  or  of  that  which  is 
spiritual?  Or  is  Life  a  distinct  reality  and  have  its 
affections  a  real  being,  or  are  they  the  affections  of  a 
composite  of  Soul  and  body? 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  169 

Claimed  as  Decisive 


Here  every  thing  is  undetermined  and  all  is  a  maze  of 
confusion ;  body  and  spirit  are  hopelessly  intermingled 
and  the  fundamental  Truth  of  all  Science  destroyed. 
Spirit  and  Matter  are  and  must  be  held  distinct  from  one 
another.  Vitally  united,  they  still  are  parted  by  an  im- 
passable gulf  of  separation. 

The  confusion,  thorough  and  destructive,  involved  in 
the  Division  of  the  Qualities  of  Matter  into  Primary  and 
Secondary,  is  in  striking  contrast  to  the  simple  and  true 
statement,  that  Color,  Sound,  Perfume,  Flavor,  etc., 
are  qualities  of  material  objects,  which  we  cognize  by 
our  powers  of  intuitive  perception. 

Section  IV     Objections  from  Physiology 

These  have  been  regarded  as  decisive.  It  is  afBrmed, 
that  the  nerves  of  the  special  senses  have  no  feeling  of 
pain ;  that  each  one  is  susceptible  of  its  own  peculiar 
affection,  and  that  this  may  be  induced  by  any  kind  of 
excitation,  or  at  least  by  a  number  of  different  kinds.  It 
is  said,  moreover,  that  these  peculiar  affections  can  be 
experienced  only  by  their  own  nerves,  and  that  the  very 
same  kind  of  excitation  may  induce  them  all  if  applied  to 
the  appropriate  nerves.  From  this  it  is  deduced  that 
color,  sound,  perfume,  flavor,  etc.,  are  simply  affections 
of  the  corresponding  nerves,  when  excited  by  one  stimu- 
lant or  another.  Thus,  for  example,  the  optic  nerve  will 
give  the  sensation  of  light  and  color  if  stimulated  by  the 
sun,  or  galvanism,  electricity,  pressure,  a  blow,  perhaps 
even  by  some  diseased,  or  abnormal  condition  of  the 
organism.  The  auditory  nerve  will  give  the  sensation  of 
sound,  if  in  any  way  it  be  stimulated,  perhaps  even  by 
the  same  or  some  of  the  same  agents  which  excite  light 
or  color  in  the  optic  nerve.  So  also  the  olfactory  and 
gustatory  nerves  give  us  the  sensations  of  perfume  and 
flavor ;  and  the  same  thing  is  true  of  theother  senses. 


I70  IV    SENSATION  sec. 

TRecent  flntroDuction 

In  reply  it  may  be  said  that  all  this  is  probably  exag- 
gerated and  that  there  are  certain  facts,  or  intimations 
in  what  is  called  the  evolutionary  history  of  the  "special 
senses  "  from  their  first  beginnings  in  the  lower  creatures 
to  their  perfected  forms  in  higher  animals  and  in  man, 
which  may  be  regarded  as  indicating  that  these  "  sensa- 
tions" have  not  always  been  and  are  not  necessarily  con- 
fined to  special  nerves.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  that  they 
were,  some,  or  all  of  them,  at  one  time  more  or  less 
diffused  over  the  entire  body  and  that  their  present  con- 
centration in  the  higher  animals  and  in  man  is  a  recent 
introduction.  The  true  name  of  these  so-called  sensa- 
tions is  '^ perceptio7tsy 

In  the  second  place,  it  must  be  remembered  that  we 
only  know  that  things  are;  we  do  not  know  what  they 
are  in  themselves. 

Thus  we  know  that  Light  is,  but  we  do  not  know 
what  Light  is,  beyond  the  simple  fact  that  we  cognize  it. 
Scientists  tell  us  that  it  is  a  certain  degree  of  velocity  in 
the  vibrations  of  the  Ether.  But  what  is  the  Ether  and 
what  causes  its  high  velocity  of  vibration?  And  how 
does  this  differ  and  does  it  differ  from  galvanism,  or 
electricity,  or  from  nerve  vibration  from  a  sudden  blow, 
or  from  some  other  cause  ? 

Moreover,  we  know  that  Light  is  produced  by  differ- 
ent agents  or  in  different  ways.  It  came  at  first  as 
"Cosmic  Light,"  the  faint  increasing  glow  of  the 
original  universal  Nebula,  as  it  began  to  move  and  con- 
dense ;  it  shows  itself  in  the  tail  of  the  comet  millions  of 
miles  in  length  and  so  attenuated  that  faint  stars  are  seen 
shining  through  it ;  it  starts  forth  as  dark  meteoric 
stones  are  caught  in  the  earth's  atmosphere  and  dart 
through  it  all  ablaze ;  it  comes  from  the  intense, 
incandescent  gases  of  the  sun's  photosphere,  produced 
by  meteoric  showers  falling  into  the    sun,  by   chemical 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  171 

DariouB  Sources  of  2Ltgbt 

and  electric  activity,  or  by  the  contraction  of  the  sun 
itself;  it  comes  from  the  violent  union  of  oxygen  and 
carbon  in  the  combustion  of  wood,  coal,  etc.;  it  comes 
from  the  incandescent  filament  in  the  glass  bulb  of  the 
Incandescent  Electric  Light ;  from  the  brilliant  piece  of 
lime  in  the  flame  of  the  oxyhydrogen  blow-pipe ;  from  a 
piece  of  potassium  thrown  and  floating  upon  water;  it 
shines  from  the  unconsumed  points  of  carbon  in  the 
electric  arc-light;  it  springs  from  the  leap  of  the  electric 
current  over  the  intervening  space  in  the  conductor 
along  which  it  flows,  or  as  it  flashes  through  the  air  from 
the  cloud  to  the  earth ;  it  comes  from  various  galvanic 
and  chemical  activities,  from  the  blow  given  by  the  pro- 
jectile of  a  rifled  cannon  as  it  strikes  the  armor  of  an 
iron-clad  vessel ;  it  comes  in  showers  of  sparks  from  the 
friction  of  the  iron  brake,  as  it  presses  heavily  upon  the 
iron  wheels  of  the  railroad  car  and  as  a  piece  of  steel  is 
held  firmly  against  the  rapidly  revolving  grinding-stone ; 
it  starts  forth  as  the  horse  strikes  his  iron-shod  foot 
against  the  granite  stone  pavement ;  as  the  flint  and  steel 
of  our  forefathers'  "tinder-box"  are  struck  upon  one 
another  and  in  the  spark  of  the  old  flint-lock  gun  when 
fired ;  and  as  by  rapid  skillful  movement  the  barbarian 
rubs  and  moves  two  pieces  of  wood  upon  one  another  ; 
it  arises  from  fermentation  and  the  process  of  decay,  as 
when  heaped  up  piles  of  fresh  cut  grass  burst  into  flame 
and  as  the  "ignis  fatuus"  springs  forth  from  and 
hovers  over  swamps  and  marshes ;  it  appears  in  the 
pulsating  tints  and  streams  of  the  northern  lights ;  in  the 
glowing  vapor  arising  from  sticks  and  pieces  of  phos- 
phorus ;  in  certain  chemical  fluids  when  shaken  together 
in  a  bottle  in  the  dark ;  it  is  seen  night  after  night  in 
self-luminous  paint ;  it  shows  itself  in  the  fire-fly  and 
glow-worm,  at  once  the  wonder  and  the  despair  of  the 
scientist;   in   the  curious  light,  which  by  a  long    handle 


172  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

■Retina  an&  Xlgbt  pbissfcal 


certain  creatures  of  the  dark  deep  oceans  hold  over  their 
head  for  their  guidance,  or  for  their  protection  ;  it  arises 
mysteriously,  filling  us  with  wondering  admiration,  from 
the  wide-spreading  phosphorescent  waters  of  the  sea 
through  which  ships  and  steamers  plough  their  way  in 
the  silent  watches  of  the  night ;  and  it  appears  to  be  in 
some  way  the  product  of  infusorial  life  and  activity ;  in  an 
awe  inspiring  manner,  it  flames  from  the  eyes  of  lions 
and  tigers  and  other  beasts  of  prey,  like  moving  coals  of 
living  fire ;  and  it  has  been  claimed  that  the  human  eye 
itself  has  a  luminosity  of  its  own. 

All  these  numerous  and  varied  agents  and  activities 
from  which  light  springs  are  physical  and  are  involved  in 
deep,  inpenetrable  mystery.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore, 
but  in  accord  with  all  this,  if  Light  be  produced  within 
the  optic  nerve,  or  rather  and  chiefly  within  the  retina 
by  various  and  dissimilar  agents,  the  nerve,  retina  and 
the  Light  all  being  physical,  and,  being  there  an  objective 
reality,  is  cognized  by  the  present  indwelling  Soul,  no 
matter  by  what  agent  the  Light  be  produced. 

May  it  not  even  be  that,  as  luminous  paint  has  a  glow 
of  its  own,  as  have  also  the  fire-fly,  the  glow-worm  and 
the  deep-sea  creature,  as  the  eyes  of  beasts  of  prey  shine 
with  inherent  light,  as  there  is  phosphoresence  of  sea- 
water,  phosphorus,  infusoria,  the  human  eye  has,  as  has 
been  claimed,  light  within  itself;  it  may  be  that  it  ab- 
sorbs and  retains,  in  some  measure,  as  in  a  store-house, 
the  light  which  is  poured  into  it  all  through  the  bright 
hours  of  the  day  and  the  hours  of  artificial  illumination, 
as  electricity  is  within  the  storage-battery  and  as  seems 
to  be  the  case  with  self-luminous  paint.  As  a  familiar 
matter  of  fact,  we  know  that  light  is  absorbed  and  re- 
tained by  the  retina.  This  gives  the  brilliant,  changing 
colors,  which  we  cognize  when  we  shut  our  eyes  after 
looking  at  the  sun  and  which   remain  for  quite  a  long 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  173 

"KefineD  MorlO  for  tbc  Soul 


time;  and  produces  what  is  called  the  persistence  of 
vision,  which  has  been  utilized  in  the  revolving  toy  with 
moving  figures  and  in  the  kinetoscope.  Still  further  as 
certain  chemicals  shaken  in  a  bottle  become  luminous, 
why  may  not  the  optic  nerve  and  retina  become  so  upon 
excitation  in  one  way  or  another? 

In  the  third  place,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  there 
is  a  gulf  of  separation  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
material  and  that  the  purpose  of  the  body  is  to  bring 
these  into  communication  with  one  another.  The  Soul 
has  the  power  of  cognizing  external,  material  realities, 
but  this  power  is  of  a  very  limited  character.  The  ordi- 
nary material  world  is  too  large,  too  gross  for  the  Soul 
to  deal  with  it  immediately.  There  has  been  prepared 
for  it,  therefore,  a  material  world  of  extreme  refinement 
and  delicacy  in  substance,  structure  and  force.  This  is 
our  entire  nervous  system,  and  of  this  system  there  are 
special  parts,  which  have  been  made  and  fitted  for  special 
purposes.  There  are  the  voluntary  nerves  with  a  deli- 
cate nervous  force  within  them,  which  corresponds  with 
the  mandates  of  the  Will.  The  simple  fact  is,  that  we 
"will"  and  this  force  obeys;  we  "will"  and  it  is  done. 
The  Soul  has  not  sufficient  power  of  "  Will  "  to  control 
other  material  forces,  so  that  they  all  immediately  obey 
its  mandates,  but  it  has  power  over  the  delicate,  refined, 
specially  prepared  nerve  forces.  So  also  there  are  other 
nerves,  which  have  been  wonderfully  constructed  and 
prepared  to  bring  the  Soul  into  immediate  contact  with 
certain  qualities,  aspects,  or  phenomena  of  the  material 
world. 

Thus  the  optic  nerve,  but  rather  and  especially  the 
retina  has  been  fitted  to  bring  the  Soul  into  immediate 
contact  with  and  perception  of  visible  objects,  or  with 
light  and  color.  Those  who  have  made  of  the  retina  a 
careful  examination,  have  described  its  marvellous,  deli- 


174  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

"Kctina  ma&c  for  Xtgbt 


cate  and  complicated  structure,  finer  by  far  than  the 
finest  mosaic  work  of  human  art  and  skill.  It  is  upon 
this  that  light  and  color  fall  and  the  Soul  cognizes  the 
illuminated  piece  of  delicate  workmanship. 

This  wonderful  construction  together  with  the  optic 
nerve  connected  with  it  being  the  special  apparatus  to 
bring  the  Soul  into  contact  with  light  and  color,  it  is 
not  at  all  strange  if  the  perception  of  light  and  color  be 
confined  to  it.  The  very  fact  that  we  have  this  wonder- 
ful optical  nerve  construction  may  be  regarded  as  proof, 
that  our  perception  of  light  and  color  must  be  through 
it  and  through  it  alone  and  not  by  other  nerves,  which 
have  been  constructed  for  other  purposes.  The  instru- 
ments, which  men  have  devised,  are  useful  only  for  that 
for  which  they  were  intended  and  made.  To  see  we  do 
not  use  the  ear-trumpet,  the  telephone,  the  phonograph, 
the  speaking  tube,  the  flute,  the  cornet,  the  violin,  the 
organ,  the  thermometer,  but  eye-glasses,  opera-glasses, 
binoculars,  the  stereoscope,  microscope,  telescope. 

These,  and  other  optical  instruments,  greatly  aid  and 
enlarge  our  power  of  vision,  the  purpose  for  which  they 
were  designed  and  made,  but  are  useless  for  every  thing 
€lse  and  they  cannot  be  supplanted  by  instruments  made 
for  other  purposes.  And  even  among  themselves,  each 
one  is  of  use  only  for  its  own  particular  purpose.  The 
telescope  cannot  take  the  place  and  do  the  work  of  the 
microscope,  nor  can  the  latter  do  the  service  of  the 
former;  the  stereoscope  performs  a  work  altogether 
peculiar  to  itself.  It  is  in  accord  with  this,  if  the  optic 
nerve  and  retina  are  fit  for  and  only  for  bringing  the 
Soul  into  contact  with  and  perception  of  light  and  color, 
while  the  no  less  wonderfully  and  delicately  constructed 
auditory  nerve  and  ear  are  to  bring  the  Soul  into  con- 
tact with  and  perception  of  sounds,  which  would  without 
these  be  too  great  and  gross  for  the  Soul  to   touch  and 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  175 

®tbcr  ©rgans  for  tbcfr  purpose 

cognize.  The  fact  that  they  have  been  constructed  for 
vision  may  be  taken  as  proof,  that  they  have  thereby  been 
made  unfit  for  anything  but  hght  and  color. 

The  force  of  what  we  have  said  may  be  augmented  by 
a  similar  consideration  of  the  other  organs  of  external 
perception.  We  might  point  out,  that  what  is  true  of 
optic  nerve  and  retina  is  true  of  the  auditory  nerve  ap- 
paratus, of  the  olfactory  and  gustatory  nerves  and  the 
nerves  of  perception  by  touch.  The  facts,  which  we 
have  mentioned  in  regard  to  light,  we  might  show  to  be 
true  of  sound,  perfume,  flavor  and  that  which  is  appre- 
hended by  touch  ;  these  are  material  qualities,  aspects, 
or  phenomena  of  the  external  world,  which  may  be  pro- 
duced by  different  agents,  or  in  different  ways ;  and 
special  nerve  constructions  are  the  delicate  and  refined 
means  of  bringing  the  Soul  into  contact  with  and  per- 
ception of  these  things,  no  matter  how  they  may  be  pro- 
duced, or  made  manifest ;  and  each  nerve  construction 
is  for  its  own  peculiar  purpose  and  it  alone. 

Thus — we  do  not  know  what  Sound  is,  except  as  it  is 
cognized  by  us,  but  we  know  that  it  is,  and  we  know 
that  it  may  be  produced  by  different  agents,  or  in  differ- 
ent ways.  It  may  be  produced  by  wind-instruments  ; 
by  the  flute,  the  cornet,  the  organ,  the  organs  of  bird- 
song  and  of  human  speech ;  by  all  manner  of  string  in- 
struments, the  harp,  the  violin,  the  piano ;  by  the  strik- 
ing, clashing  and  vibrating  of  objects  together  and  upon 
one  another  as  by  cymbals,  drums,  bells ;  by  the  knock- 
ing, the  grating  and  grinding  of  one  surface  upon 
another ;  by  the  rubbing  action  of  many  insects  giving 
out  their  peculiar  noises ;  it  comes  through  the  agency 
of  wind  as  it  sighs  among  the  pine  branches,  or  sings 
along  the  outstretched  wires  of  the  telegraph  and  tele- 
phone ;  it  comes  through  the  agency  of  water,  as  it 
tosses  along  the  bed  of  the  mountain  torrent,  as  it  falls 


176  IV     SENSATION  Sac. 

Watfous  Sources  ot  SounO 


in  cataracts  and  as  the  ever-sounding  waves  roll  upon  the 
sandy  sea-shore,  or  dash  themselves  against  the  rock- 
bound  coast ;  it  comes  through  the  vibration  of  solid 
bodies,  as  from  the  tuning-fork,  which  has  been  struck 
and  is  held  on  end  upon  a  sounding-board,  and  as  the 
firmly  fixed  giant  bell  in  the  belfry,  long  after  it  has  re- 
ceived the  blow  of  the  hammer,  sends  forth  the  pulsa- 
tions of  its  sweet  tones ;  it  comes  from  the  slightest 
movement  of  the  hand  upon,  or  over  the  external  ear  ; 
it  comes  to  the  delight  and  wonder  of  childhood,  from 
the  sea-shell,  as  it  seems  to  reproduce  the  sound  of  the 
far  distant  sea,  as  though  it  had  kept  it  stored  up  within 
its  own  recesses ;  it  comes  from  perhaps  unknown  and 
unexplained  activities  deep  in  the  interior  of  our  globe, 
giving  the  peculiar  sound  of  the  earthquake  and  the  loud 
explosions  of  volcanoes  in  eruption ;  it  comes  from  the 
firm  pressure  of  the  wound-up  spring  of  a  watch,  and 
from  the  steady  down-pull  of  the  weights  of  a  clock ;  it 
comes  from  mysterious  agents  or  forces,  from  gravita- 
tion, elasticity,  cohesion,  repulsion,  from  heat,  galvan- 
ism, magnetism,  electricity  and  chemical  agents ;  it 
comes  from  nerve  force  and  muscular  power,  as  also 
from  the  inexplicable  vital  processes,  as  within  plants, 
animals'and  men. 

All  these  numerous  and  varied  agents,  and  activities, 
from  which  sound  comes,  are  physical  and  are  involved 
in  the  deepest  kind  of  mystery;  and  it  is  not  strange, 
but  in  accord  with  all  this,  if  sound  be  produced  within 
the  delicate  auditory  nerve  construction  by  a  number  of 
dissimilar  agents  and  activities,  the  Sound  itself  being  a 
physical  quality,  which  being  present  is  cognized  by  the 
indwelling  Soul  no  matter  how  it  is  produced.  We  are 
familiar  with  three  ways,  in  which  sound  is  produced 
within  the  auditory  nerve  construction.  The  ordinary 
way  is  that  of  air  vibrations ;  it  is  also  produced  by  cer- 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  177 

J6ar  ma&e  for  Soun&  ©nl^ 


tain  more  or  less  disordered  conditions  of  our  organism, 
giving  us  ringing  or  rumbling  within  the  ears;  and  a 
third  way  is  by  the  teeth.  This  latter  is  so  decided  that 
it  has  been  utilized  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  are  deaf 
or  hard  of  hearing.  A  broad  sheet  of  thin  metal,  like  a 
sheet  of  stifif  paper,  or  a  fan,  is  held  between  the  front 
teeth  by  one  edge  and  thus  held  conveys  the  voice  of  a 
distant  speaker  to  the  listening  Soul  and  so  well  that  it 
is  intelligently  apprehended. 

Again,  as  there  are  voluntary  nerves  constructed  for 
the  "Will"  and  for  the  "Will"  alone,  and  as  there  is 
the  optic  nerve  and  the  retina  fitted  for  our  perception 
of  light  and  color  and  of  these  alone,  so  also  we  have 
the  auditory  nerve  construction  for  sound.  If  we  have 
wondered  at  the  structure  of  the  Retina,  adapting  it  for 
vision,  we  wonder  equally  at  the  structure  of  the  inner 
ear  and  its  nerve  connections,  fitting  them  for  hearing. 

The  inner  ear  with  its  ear  drum,  its  little  bones  of 
most  curious  fashioning  and  the  marvellous  manner  in 
which  it  is  united  with  the  auditory  nerve,  is  such  as 
man  never  would,  or  could  have  devised.  And  having 
been  thus  designed  and  delicately  wrought  for  the 
special  purpose  of  bringing  the  Soul  into  contact  with 
and  perception  of  sounds,  it  is  not  strange  that  it  is  use- 
less for  anything  else.  It  is  the  hearing  organ  and  is  as 
incompetent  for  sight  etc.,  as  are  trumpets,  telephones, 
phonographs  and  instruments  of  music. 

It  would  seem  superfluous  to  dwell  upon  the  olfactory 
and  gustatory  nerves.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  the 
same  things  are  true  in  regard  to  them,  which  we  have 
pointed  out  in  regard  to  the  eye  and  ear.  It  is  well 
known  that  perfumes  and  flavors  may  be  produced  by 
various  agents  and  activities.  By  the  apothecary's  art 
and  skill,  perfumes  and  flavors  may  be  compounded  from 
different  materials,  perhaps  both  of  them  from  the  same 
12 


178  IV     SENSATION  sk. 

a  flbatcrial  Science 


materials,  and.  possibly,  almost  all  natural  perfumes  and 
flavors  may  be  with  more  or  less  success,  artificially  pro- 
duced. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  nervous  structures  for 
smelling  and  tasting  have  been  designed,  and  fitted  for 
their  special  purposes,  as  truly  as  have  the  eye  and  the 
ear.  So  again  it  is  not  strange,  if  they  are  for  these 
purposes  alone  and  if  perfumes  and  flavors  may  be 
brought  to  the  olfactory  and  gustatory  nerves  by  various 
agents. 

In  the  fotirth  place,  it  must  again  be  remembered,  that 
Physiology  is  a  material  science.  It  has  to  do  with  that 
which  is  physical  and  its  teachings  are  of  a  physical 
character.  As  an  actual  fact  its  tendency  is  decidedly 
towards  materialism.  It  must  not  be  permitted  to 
fashion  and  determine  our  conceptions  of  the  powers, 
qualities,  activities  of  the  Soul.  If  it  does  this,  we  are 
sure  to  fall  into  error.  Materialism  is  the  inevitable 
result. 

Physiology  teaches  that  by  special  nerves  an  excitation 
is  carried  to  the  Sensorium.  the  base  of  the  Brain.  This 
being  excited  produces  within  itself  the  sensations  of 
pain  and  pleasure,  of  color,  perfume,  flavor,  sound,  touch, 
etc.  And  as  the  Sensorium  produces  the  sensations  or 
feelings  so,  upon  excitation,  the  Cerebrum,  the  upper 
part  of  the  Brain,  produces  ideas,  thoughts,  etc.  Ac- 
cording to  this  the  activities  of  the  Soul,  its  feelings,  sen- 
sations, ideas,  thoughts,  etc.,  are  the  activities  of  the  two 
parts  of  the  brain,  a  material  organism,  between  which 
and  the  Soul  there  can  be  no  real  distinction  and  no  in- 
dependence of  being.  The  Soul,  therefore,  so  far  as  it 
exists,  is  a  material  thing  and  dies  with  the  body;  or  its 
activities  and  experiences  are  material  and  must  cease 
with  the  destruction  of  the  material  organ  within  which 
they  arise  and  to  which  they  belong.     The  only  knowl- 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  179 

®ur  ©octrinc  Spiritual 


edge,  however,  which  we  have  of  the  Soul  is  that  of  its 
activities  and  experiences,  but  if  these  be  the  activities 
of  the  brain,  we  have  no  knowledge  of  the  Soul  and  no 
proof  of  its  being. 

If  this  presentation  of  the  teachings  of  Physiology  be 
regarded  as  exaggerated,  it  must  be  acknowledged  at 
least  that  the  decided  tendency  of  its  teachings  is  mater- 
ialistic and  that  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  their  final 
issue  can  be  other  than  materialism. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  our  own  doctrine  is  itself,  in 
some  measure,  materialistic  also  as  it  teaches  that  the 
feelings  of  physical  pleasure  and  pain  are  due  to  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  body,  and  are  not  apart  from  these. 

Our  doctrine  expressly  holds  the  absolute  distinction 
between  Spirit  and  Matter  and  that  these  feeliiigs  are 
themselves  purely  spiritual,  being  activities  of  the  Soul 
and  not  of  the  body.  They  are  due  to.  because  the  reflex 
of  certain  activities  of  the  material  organism  and  are 
largely  for  the  sake  of  its  well  being,  through  proper  at- 
tention given  to  it  by  the  Soul  because  of  them,  which 
might  otherwise  neglect  it.  When  the  body  dies,  there 
is  no  longer  need  nor  cause  for  these  peculiar  feelings 
and  the  freed  Soul  lives  on,  itself  entirely  unimpaired. 
It  simply  ceases  to  act  in  this  manner ;  it  is  free  from 
physical  pleasure  and  pain. 

In  contrast  to  this.  Physiology  teaches  that  all  our 
activities,  our  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain,  our  sensa- 
tions, our  ideas,  thoughts,  memories,  etc..  are  the^tiselves 
the  activities  of  the  brain. 

An  Illust7-aHo7i,  imperfect  and  fit  only  to  aid  the  ap- 
prehension of  the  thought  of  the  relation,  according  to 
our  view,  of  the  Soul  and  body  in  regard  to  the  feeling 
of  physical  pleasure  and  pain,  may  be  found  in  Electric 
Induction.  Thus  there  may  be  a  complicated  electric 
instalment,   or    apparatus   with    its    own    generators,   or 


i8o  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

"Kclation  of  Soul  to  BoD^  If  UustrateD 


sources  of  electricity  and  its  own  electric  phenomena. 
If  one  of  its  conductors  have  an  outside  live-wire  run- 
ning along  in  close  proximity,  but  without  any  contact 
of  the  two,  there  will,  or  there  may  be  electric  activity 
induced  in  the  apparatus  with  electric  phenomena  due  to 
it.  When  the  live-wire  is  removed  the  induced  electric- 
ity and  its  phenomena  cease  and  the  apparatus  remains 
in  its  unimpaired  integrity.  Thus  the  Soul,  having  feel- 
ings of  pleasure  and  pain  the  reflex  of  certain  activities 
of  the  body,  ceases  to  have  these  feelings  when  the  body 
is  destroyed,  and  maintains  its  own  integrity  unimpaired. 

Another  illustration  may  be  had  in  the  perturbations  of 
a  comet.  The  comet  has  its  own  orbit,  motion,  force, 
etc.,  but  coming  under  the  influence  of  the  planets,  near 
which  it  may  pass,  it  suffers  certain  perturbations  in  its 
movements.  But  when  freed  from  the  planetary  in- 
fluence, such  perturbations  cease  and  the  comet  once 
more  acts  for  and  of  itself.  Thus  the  Soul,  while 
dwelling  within  the  body  experiences  certain  feelings, 
which  are  the  reflex  of  the  body's  activity,  but  when  it 
leaves  the  body  it  is  freed  from  its  influence  and  lives 
acting  for  and  of  itself. 

Nothing  can  be  more  evident  than  that  our  doctrine 
has  no  trace  of  materialism ;  while  the  teachings  of 
Physiology  are  decidedly  of  a  materialistic  character  and 
must  necessarily  be  so  as  long  as  they  maintain  their 
present  doctrine  of  sensation. 

Reference  might  also  be  made  to  what  the  Physiologist 
calls  ^'  strictly  subjective  sensations y  It  is  said  that  ideas 
and  thoughts  arising  from  the  Cerebrum  may  give  exci- 
tations to  the  Sensorium,  and  that  the  Sensorium  will 
then  produce  sensations  such  as  it  does  when  otherwise 
excited.     Hence  arise  apparitions,  visions,  illusions,  etc. 

Here  again,  however,  the  asserted  facts,  or  operations 
are  altogether  physical  and  entirely  outside  of  Conscious- 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  i8i 

"Subjective  Sensations"  IDisions 


ness.  They  cannot  teach  us  concerning  the  activities  of 
the  Soul.  The  true  explanation  of  the  well  known 
phenomena  of  phantasies,  etc.,  is  found  in  the  wonderful 
retentiveness  of  Memory  and  the  marvellous  power  of 
the  Imagination,  weaving  mental  material  into  endless 
varieties  of  phantasmagoria  and  imparting  to  its  crea- 
tions the  vividness  of  actual  external  realities,  while  the 
Soul  is  so  absorbed  by  the  very  intensity  of  its  activity 
in  so  doing,  or  so  troubled  by  reason  of  some  organic 
disorder,  or  disease,  that  for  the  moment  it  fails  to  recog- 
nize the  true  character  of  its  creations  and  to  place 
them  where  they  truly  belong,  among  mental  phenomena. 

This  explanation  is  founded  upon  and  grows  out  of 
that  which  we  knozv  from  Consciousness  as  to  the  power 
of  Memory  and  Imagination,  and  as  to  the  way  in  which 
the  Soul  may  be  at  times,  as  it  were,  entranced  with  its 
own  operations,  or  overwhelmed  with  suffering. 

Thus  we  have  an  explanation  thoroughly  spiritual, 
with  the  full  recognition  of  the  Soul ;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  the  teachings  of  Physiology  of  a  materialistic 
character,  with  the  being  of  the  Soul  denied,  or  in 
doubt. 

But  whatever  be  the  character  and  tendency  of  the 
teachings  of  Physiology  and  whether  we  have  presented 
them  correctly,  or  not,  it  is  certainly  a  physical  Science 
and  must  be  kept  within  its  own  sphere.  For  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  being,  powers,  activities  of  the  Soul  we  must 
rely  implicitly  upon  the  infallible  testimony  of  Conscious- 
ness. Only  thus  can  we  rise  superior  to  the  errors,  the 
difficulties,  the  perplexities  and,  perhaps  unanswerable, 
questions  which  come  from  the  material  sciences.  Con- 
sciousness knows  nothing  of  the  distinction  between  the 
upper  and  lower  parts  of  the  brain ;  it  knows  nothing  of 
nerves  and  nerve  construction,  men  do  not  so  much  as 
know  that  they  have  them.     Its  sure  testimony  is  that 


i82  IV     SENSATION  Sec. 

Ubc  Zxnc  ^cstimonis  3ffrm  (3roun& 


when,  for  example,  we  see  and  hear  and  touch,  we  per- 
ceive neither  nerves,  nor  wonderful  delicate  organs  of 
perception,  but  cognize  the  realities  themselves  of  the 
external  world  with  which,  by  these  organs  the  Soul  is 
brought  into  contact,  even  as  the  scientist  sees  neither 
telescope,  nor  microscope,  but  looks  through  them  upon 
the  stars  of  heaven  and  upon  the  wonders  of  the  world 
invisible  to  ordinary  sight.  Relying  upon  this  testimony 
we  stand  upon  firm  ground,  secure  from  all  the  difficul- 
ties and  perplexities  of  physiology  and  all  the  assaults  of 
materialism. 

The  exposition,  which  we  have  given  of  Sensation,  is 
perfectly  true  to  the  essential  distinction  between  Spirit 
and  Matter ;  it  avoids  every  trace  of  confusion  of  the 
qualities  and  activities  of  these  with  one  another  and 
brings  distinctly  forward  the  fact  that  our  sensations  are 
purely  spiritual,  being  feelings  of  pleasure  and  pain 
within  the  Soul;  and  that  color,  sound,  perfume,  flavor 
etc.  are  qualities  of  the  external  material  world. 

All  this  is  essential  for  the  true  knowledge  of  Sensa- 
tion and  for  the  proper  presentation  and  understanding 
of  External  Perception. 

We  have  conceived  of  the  Soul,  as  being  at  the  outset 
fully  endowed  with  all  its  powers ;  as  in  itself  a  perfect 
blank  and  as  vitally  united  to  an  immature  and  as  yet 
unborn  body.  We  have  thought  of  it,  as  having  for  its 
first  experience  sensation,  some  feeling  of  pleasure  or 
pain,  of  comfort,  or  discomfort.  This  may  be  very 
slight,  or  obscure,  but  yet  real  and  the  beginning  of  in- 
numerable and  decided  feelings,  which  are  to  follow,  as 
its  experience  grows  and  ripens  with  the  growing  and 
maturing  body. 

This  experience,  however,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
certainly  and  actually  the  very  first,  for  we  must  suppose 
that  simultaneously  with   it,  possibly  a  little  earlier,  or 


IV  PHYSIOLOGY  183 

perception  anD  ffeeltng  ColncfOent 


later  there  is  some  degree  of  perception.  In  thought  we 
can  hardly  dissociate  them  from  one  another  as  the  Soul 
must  be  thought  of  as  having  some  perception  of  itself 
in  feeling.  Practically  we  may  regard  the  two  exper- 
iences as  arising  coincidently,  as  with  the  feeling  of 
physical  pleasure  and  pain  there  would  be,  we  may  well 
suppose,  some  perception  of  the  body  through  pressure 
or  touch. 

Perception  is  the  power  of  cognizing  the  realities  of 
the  inner  world  of  Self  and  of  the  outer  world  of  Matter. 
We  have,  therefore,  that  which  is  called  Internal  and  Ex- 
ternal Perception.  To  the  latter  of  these  we  now  direct 
our  attention. 


Itttxiitixrje  ^txupiion 

CH  AFTER    V 

External  perception 

Section  I     Realities  Cognized 

All  our  knowledge  comes  from  Perception.  The 
Soul  has  no  innate,  or  native  ideas,  principles,  axioms, 
fundamental  Truths.  It  has  nothing  of  the  kind  what- 
ever, not  even  in  a  latent,  obscure,  undeveloped,  unper- 
ceived  condition  awaiting  time,  opportunity,  circum- 
stances, influences  to  mature  them  and  to  awaken  the 
recognition  of  them  in  Consciousness.  The  simple  fact, 
and  one  which  must  necessarily  be  definitely  apprehended 
and  acknowledged  for  true  science,  is  that  the  Soul  at 
the  beginning  is  endowed  only  with  its  powers,  faculties, 
or  attributes  and  the  laws  which  govern  their  operation, 
including  in  this  what  may  be  called,  in  a  general  way, 
tendency,  disposition,  character. 

In  this  there  is  a  striking  correspondence  between  the 
Soul  and  the  material  Cosmos.  The  latter,  when  it  first 
came  into  being  as  a  Nebulous  mass  of  extreme  tenuity, 
was  simply  the  material  substance  with  endowment  of  its 
forces  and  the  laws  governing  their  action  and  reaction 
upon  one  another,  together  with  such  disposition,  ten- 
dency, direction,  order,  relation,  ofif-set  of  these  forces, 
or  condition  of  the  Nebulous  mass  itself,  or  some  kind  of 
impress  which  caused  the  Nebula,  under  the  operation 
of  its  forces  acting  according  to  their  laws,  to  develop 
into  the  physical  Cosmos  which  now  is,  and  not  into 
some  other  possible  one.  So  each  individual  Soul,  as  it 
184 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED  185 

XLbe  Soul  anO  tbe  Cosmos  "Realities 

comes  into  being,  is  simply  a  spirit  with  endowment  of 
its  powers  or  attributes  and  the  laws  governing  their 
activity,  together  with  such  individual  relation,  or  order- 
ing and  kind,  or  character  of  these  powers  and  such  par- 
ticular make  up,  or  constitution  of  the  Soul  itself  that 
will  cause  it  to  develop  in  its  own  particular  way  and 
according  to  the  material  furnished  it  and  the  influences 
brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

It  may  be  regarded  as  generally  acknowledged,  that 
the  Soul,  being  at  the  beginning  such  as  we  have  repre- 
sented it,  needs  something  to  evoke  its  powers  and  some 
material  for  them  to  act  upon.  This  is  furnished  by  its 
perception  of  the  realities  of  the  inner  and  external 
worlds.  This  material  is  all  that  we  have.  We  create 
and  can  create  nothing.  All  that  we  can  possibly  do  is 
to  observe  and  lay  hold  of  these  things  and  then  weave 
them  into  the  endless  variety  of  ideas,  thoughts,  concep- 
tions, imaginings,  which  have  arisen  within  the  minds  of 
men,  and  discover  and  formulate  laws,  principles,  axioms, 
etc.,  inherent  in  these  things  and  in  their  relation  to  one 
another  and  which  reveal  themselves  to  our  scrutiny. 

The  realities  which  the  Soul  perceives,  being  those  of 
the  internal  and  external  worlds,  we  have  reason  to  sup- 
pose, that  at  first  it  occupies  itself  chiefly  with  those 
belonging  to  the  latter  and  that  it  is  these,  rather  than 
the  former,  which  primarily  evoke  the  activities  of  the 
Soul  and  stimulate  their  development.  Hence  it  is  that 
External  Perception  presents  itself  first,  in  natural  order, 
for  our  consideration. 

This  has  been  designated  by  various  terms.  It  has 
been  called  "Intuition,"  "Intuitive  Perception,"  "Imme- 
diate Knowledge,"  "Knowledge  of  external  things  them- 
selves," "The  Cognition  of  external  realities."  "Cog- 
nizing of  external  realities  by  material  or  bodily  organs 
of  Perception."     It  has  also  been  designated,  but  wrong- 


1 86  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Various  Barnes  ©efinition 

fully  as  we  have  carefully  pointed  out,  as  "  Sense  Percep- 
tion," or  "Perception  of  the  outer  world  through  the 
Senses,  or  by  organs  of  Sense,  by  special  Senses,  or  by 
Sensations." 

In  a  general  way,  we  may  say  that  External  Percep- 
tion is  the  power  of  Cognizing  the  Realities  of  the  Ex- 
ternal World,  with  which  the  Soul  is  brought  into  con- 
tact, or  rather  which  are  directly  presented  to  the  Soul 
by  our  bodily  organs  of  Perception,  even  as  telescopic 
and  microscopic  vision  is  the  power  of  seeing  the  things 
which  are  presented  by  the  telescope  and  microscope  and 
which  are  thus  brought  within  the  sphere  or  reach  of 
vision.  As  these  instruments  present  objects  to  the  eye 
and  bring  them  within  its  power  of  vision,  so  our  bodily 
organs  present  external  realities  to  the  Soul  and  bring 
them  within  its  power  of  cognition. 

In  such  Perception  the  all  important  element  is  the 
power,  with  which  the  Soul  is  endowed,  of  cognizing 
external  things.  Here  we  have  a  most  profound  mys- 
tery; the  possibility  of  such  power  surpasses  our  highest 
conception.  But  the  same  thing  is  true  of  all  power, 
whether  spiritual,  or  material.  We  cannot  understand 
what  physical  force  is.  We  exert  our  own  muscular 
energy,  but  cannot  tell  how,  or  why;  we  think  of  the 
force  of  cohesion,  such  as  gives  tensile  strength  to  a 
solid  bar  of  steel,  and  resistance  to  adamantine  rocks,  a 
force  of  surprising  power  when  the  atoms  of  these  things 
are  in  closest  kind  of  contact,  but  which  vanishes  the 
instant  they  are  separated  by  less,  than  a  hair's  breadth; 
and  we  think  of  the  force  of  gravitation,  which  exerts  its 
power  over  worlds  hundreds  of  millions  of  miles  distant, 
holding  them  in  their  orbits,  and  we  are  overwhelmed 
with  wonder.  What  are  these  invisible  forces,  so  alike 
in  power  yet  so  dissimilar  in  operation?  We  are  no  less 
bewildered  when  we  think  of  forces  of  the  opposite  char- 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED  187 

HS^stcvicB  Bverswberc  flntuitlon 

acter,  which  are  as  mighty  to  repel,  as  the  others  are  to 
attract  and  hold  ;  the  explosion  from  superheated  steam, 
the  explosion  and  rending  from  dynamite  and  all  high 
explosives.  What  shall  we  say  to  the  irresistible  force 
of  expansion  and  contraction  due  to  heat  and  the  with- 
drawal of  heat,  or  of  the  subtile  power  of  electricity  and 
magnetism?  How  is  it  that  these  subtile  things  have 
such  power  over  the  atoms  of  matter  as  to  make  them 
shine  with  brightest  light  and  exert  mechanical  energy? 
Our  wonder  rises  higher  yet,  as  we  think  of  the  silent 
influences  flowing  from  the  sun  dispelling  the  desolations 
of  winter  and  filling  Nature  with  life  and  verdure.  What 
is  this  life-giving  power? 

Thus  it  is  with  the  material  forces,  and  if  the  mystery 
be  greater,  which  hovers  over  and  rests  upon  those 
which  are  spiritual,  it  is  only  because  these  are  powers 
of  a  higher  order.  The  mystery  is  equally  real  in  regard 
to  them  all.  We  cannot  penetrate  into  it.  All  we  can 
do,  as  we  wonder,  is  to  say — ''These powers  are.''  ''The 
Soul  has  power  to  take  knowledge  of  the  material  worlds 

This  it  does  in  virtue  of  its  own  power  directly  and 
not  through  some  intermediary,  which  makes  an  impres- 
sion upon  the  Soul,  an  impression  of  which  the  Soul 
takes  cognizance  and  through  which  it  learns  something 
of  that  which  lies  beyond  itself. 

However  deep  the  mystery,  this  is  the  fact  which  we 
must  distinctly  apprehend  ;  the  Soul  has  power  to  cog- 
nize the  things  of  the  material  world  directly.  It  looks 
upon  them  when  present,  and  knows  them.  This  is  true 
"  Intuition,"  a  looking  upon  and  seeing  and  knowing 
that  upon  which  we  look. 

Herein  is  the  very  essence  of  true  External  Perception. 

To  this  we  must  be  perfectly  and  steadfastly  true  and 
in  all  our  thought  and  exposition  of  it  we  must  not 
allow  the  least  encroachment  upon  nor  modification   of 


i88  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Zbc  Soul's  Marvellous  power 


it.  It  must  be  made  to  stand  out  clearly,  boldly  promi- 
nent in  its  untouched,  unimpaired  integrity  and  in  the 
fulness  of  its  deep-seated  mystery. 

This  is  the  Soul's  marvellous  Power — it  knows  the 
realities  of  the  world — zV  cog7tizes  the  things  which  are. 

That  the  Soul  has  such  power  admits  of  no  doubt.  It 
is  a  well  known  fact,  that  it  is  endowed  with  power  in 
regard  to  material  things. 

It  is  in  vital  union  with  the  bodily  organism,  the  life 
of  which  depends  upon  its  indwelling  presence.  United 
with  the  body  at  its  very  origin,  it  is  its  guiding,  con- 
trolling, formatic  principle,  building  it  up  according  to 
the  Soul's  own  fashioning  and  making  it  distinctly  a 
human  body,  with  a  great  impassable  gulf  of  separation 
between  it  and  the  body  of  the  animal.  Such  is  the 
actual  power  of  the  Soul  in  the  physical  organism,  that 
this  is  quickened,  or  depressed  according  to  the  varying 
disposition  of  the  Soul.  A  contented,  bright,  cheerful 
frame  of  mind  imparts  physical  health,  strength,  healing; 
while  gloominess,  despondency  and  in  a  most  marked 
manner  anxiety  and  worriment  induce  bodily  depression, 
sickness,  wasting  away  and  even  death.  Still  further, 
there  is  nothing  concerning  which  we  are  more  assured 
than  that  the  body  is  swayed  and  determined  by  emo- 
tional states  and  activities  of  the  Soul.  All  the  mobile 
features  of  the  face,  the  movements  and  attitudes  of  the 
body  are  under  such  control  of  the  spirit  within  that 
they  are  the  outward  and  visible  expression  of  its  wishes, 
hopes  and  fears,  its  love  and  hatred,  its  rising  and  falling 
passions.  All,  thus  far  mentioned,  are  due  to  the  direct 
power  of  the  Soul  over  that  which  is  material. 

Miraculous  Power 

But  the  most  impressive  and  wonderful  example  of 
this  is  found  in  the  Will.     We  are  filled  with  awe,  as  we 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED.  189 

flSiraculoue  power  Iddlspowcr 

think  of  the  Divine  Will.  God  is  clothed  with  authority 
and  power.  He  "wills"  and  all  things  obey.  This 
miraculous  attribute  He  has,  in  some  measure,  imparted 
unto  men.  The  possession  of  this  forms  part  of  our 
likeness  to  God.  He  has  endowed  us  with  "  Will- 
Power  "  over  material  things.  We  likewise  "will"  and 
it  is  done.  This  is  utterly  inexplicable,  but  the  fact  is  a 
familiar  one  in  our  experience.  Every  day,  almost  every 
moment  we  are  exerting  this  power  over  material 
things.  Every  voluntary  motion  on  our  part  is  an 
example  and  illustration  of  it.  This  is  as  truly  miracu- 
lous, as  though  by  an  act  of  the  Will  we  moved  moun- 
tains and  trees  and  cast  them  into  the  sea,  or  changed 
the  courses  of  the  stars.  This  is  miraculous  in  the 
sense,  that  by  direct  Will-Power  we  moved  these  things. 
But  this  is  precisely  that  which  we  do  in  our  voluntary 
movements.  By  direct  "Will-Power"  we  determine  our 
nervous  energy.  We  "  will "  and  this  material  force 
obeys  and  produces  all  our  muscular  activity  according 
to  our  pleasure.  This  miraculous  power  over  material 
things  is  actually  our  own,  and  it  reveals  to  us  the 
wonderful  character  of  the  Soul  in  relation  to  the  ex- 
ternal world. 

This  miraculous  "Will-Power"  is  of  especial  advan- 
tage to  us  in  setting  forth  the  nature  of  the  power  of 
the  Soul  to  cognize  external  realities.  Both  of  these 
powers  are  equally  miraculous  in  the  sense  of  the  word 
stated,  that  they  are  the  direct  act  of  the  Soul  in 
reference  to  that  which  is  material.  As  there  may  be 
one  such  miraculous  attribute  of  the  Soul,  there  is  no 
reason  why  there  should  not  be  another.  The  fact  that 
there  is  one,  that  of  the  Will,  which  is  so  assuredly 
known  and  so  manifestly  direct,  or  miraculous,  enables 
us  to  accept  without  hesitation  every  indication  that 
there  is  another  of  the  same  character,  that  of  the  direct 


190  V  .  EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

•Mature  of  Biternal  Cognition 

cognition  of  the  external  world.  This  is  that  which  we 
would  naturally  suppose ;  the  two  attributes  would 
simply  be  in  accord  with  one  another  and  with  what 
seems  to  be  revealed  by  the  Will-Power  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  relation  of  the  Soul  to  that  which  is  material,  that 
it  is  essentially  miraculous,  or  direct ;  a  relation,  more- 
over, confirmed  by  the  other  influences  of  the  Soul  over 
the  body,  which  we  have  also  named  above,  all  of  which 
are  of  the  same  direct,  or  miraculous  character. 

The  indication  given  by  the  Will  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  cognition  of  the  external  world  is,  however,  still 
more  impressive. 

We  cannot  help  regarding  the  Will-Power  as  superior 
to  and  more  wonderful  than  the  Cognitive.  Properly 
considered  the  Will  seems  strikingly  miraculous.  What 
can  be  more  so?  It  is  simply  and  literally  true,  that  we 
have  governing  power  over  material  things  by  the  mere 
act  of  the  Will.  We  will  and  it  is  done.  Every  volun- 
tary movement  is  thus  determined.  Such  power  as  this 
over  material  things,  seems  altogether  superior  to  that  of 
"simply  taking  knowledge  of  them."  By  the  one  power 
we  govern,  guide,  control,  determine.  We  exercise 
authority,  rule,  dominion  so  that  these  things  do  our 
bidding;  they  come  and  go,  act  and  move  just  as  we 
think,  wish  and  order.  They  are  obedient  to  a  word 
from  the  invisible  Soul.  This  is  surprisingly  like  unto 
the  very  power  of  God  and  the  likeness  is  not  only 
apparent,  it  is  real ;  the  power  which  God  has  omnipo- 
tently, we  have  according  to  our  finite  measure. 

There  is  no  exaggeration  here,  no  mere  use  of  figura- 
tive language,  but  the  plain  statement  of  what  we 
assuredly  know. 

With  such  a  miraculous  power  as  this  before  us,  we 
have  on  the  other  hand  in  contrast  to  it,  that  of  "know- 
ing things."     As  we  compare  the  two,  the  latter  seems 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED  191 

B  /flbiraculous  JSeing  /Dblracic  Defined 


to  fall  into  complete  insignificance.  "To  take  knowl- 
edge of  things"  must  be  regarded  as  altogether  inferior 
to  "direct  and  govern  them."  If  this  latter,  strikingly 
miraculous  power,  be  an  attribute  of  the  Soul,  as  it 
really  is,  the  inferior  miraculous  power  may  assuredly  be 
an  attribute  of  it  likewise.  And  as  such  is  the  nature  of 
the  Soul,  that  it  rules  at  pleasure  external  things  directly 
by  a  mere  act  of  its  own,  that  very  same  nature  must 
enable  it,  being  an  intelligent  agent,  to  take  direct  cog- 
nizance of  them.  Or  in  other  words,  the  fact  that  the 
Soul  has  this  miraculous  power  over  material  things 
shows  that  it  is  in  itself  in  reference  to  them  a  miracu- 
lous being.  All  its  activities  in  regard  to  them  must  be 
of  this  supreme  character. 

It  may  seem  strange  to  employ  the  word  "miraculous" 
as  we  have  done.  But  we  have  made  such  use  of  it  be- 
cause it  precisely  expresses  the  idea  which  we  wish  to 
convey,  that  of  direct  action  by  an  unseen  spiritual 
power.  The  very  definition,  which  may  be  given  of  the 
word,  shows  that  it  is  thus  expressive  and  appropriate, 
if  taken  in  its  own  simple  meaning  and  apart  from  a 
supernatural,  technical,  religious  significance.  It  may  be 
thus  defined,  a  miraculous  agent,  in  the  material  world, 
is  one  that  produces  its  effects  by  an  unseen  spiritual 
power  directly,  that  is  without  any  instrumentality;  or  a 
miraculous  act  is  that  which  is  due  directly  to  an  unseen 
spiritual  power. 

These  definitions  are  strictly  correct  in  regard  to 
every  thing  that  is  generally  known  as  miraculous. 
They  properly  express  the  miracles  of  Our  Lord.  They 
were  done  by  the  virtue  which  went  forth  from  Him. 
He  wrought  directly  by  His  unseen,  spiritual  power. 
These  definitions  are  equally  true  in  regard  to  the  human 
Soul.  In  its  volitions  it  works  directly  by  its  unseen 
spiritual  power;  in  its  cognition  of  external  realities  it 


192  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Strihins  Preeentatfon 

acts  directly  by  its  own  unseen  spiritual  power.  Our 
use  of  the  word  is  precisely  correct  and  perfectly  appro- 
priate. 

Moreover,  we  employ  it  to  give  a  striking  presentation 
of  the  wonderful  nature  of  the  Soul  and  of  the  true  char- 
acter of  its  essential  relation  to  that  which  is  material 
and  of  its  mode  of  action  in  regard  to  it ;  and  to  remove 
in  the  most  emphatic  way  possible  the  thought  of  per- 
ception through  the  senses,  and  to  hold  up.  in  a  manner 
not  to  be  misunderstood  nor  forgotten,  the  fact  that 
volition  and  external  cognition  are  the  direct  acts  of  the 
willing  and  intelligent  Soul,  being  truly  iniraculous. 
Manifestly  no  other  word  would  be  so  strikingly  impres- 
sive, and  effective. 

It  would  be  unfair  to  impute  to  it,  as  we  have  ex- 
plained and  used  it,  anything  of  a  supernatural,  technical, 
or  religious  character  and  to  charge  us  with  being  un- 
scientific. 

There  is  a  gulf  of  separation  between  the  spiritual  and 
the  material ;  let  the  communication  between  the  two  be 
designated  by  the  word  miraculous,  as  we  have  defined 
and  used  it,  and  a  clear,  never  to  be  forgotten  concep- 
tion of  its  essential  character,  as  we  believe  it  to  be,  will 
be  had ;  the  conception  of  it  as  the  direct  act  of  the 
invisible  Soul.  In  virtue  of  its  own  inherent  power  it 
cognizes  external  realities  and  rules  them  according  to 
its  own  pleasure.  It  is  in  this  mirac7iIous  way,  or  by 
this  miracle  that  the  Soul  brings  itself  into  and  holds 
communication  with  that  which  is  material,  overstepping 
the  gulf  of  separation  between  them.  The  relation  of 
the  Soul  to  matter  is  miraculous. 

With  the  possibility  of  this  miraculous  power  of  ex- 
ternal cognition,  thus  established  and  its  actual  reality 
well  founded  on  the  grounds  which  we  have  presented, 
we  now  look  at  the  Positive  Proof  of  such  reality.     It  is 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  193 

St  Jobn  (auotcD  as  to  TReallttes 


found  in  the  infallible  testimony  of  Consciousness.  We 
have  noticed  this  repeatedly  in  speaking  of  Sensation; 
but  it  must  be  presented  here  again  very  distinctly,  as 
everything  depends  upon  it.  In  presenting  this  testi- 
mony we  must  be  extremely  careful,  that  the  statement 
of  it  be  correctly  made  and  its  true  interpretation  given. 

Quotation  from  St.  John 

There  is  a  presentation  of  this  testimony  in  most 
beautiful  and  impressive  language  at  the  beginning  of 
the  First  Epistle  of  St.  John.  As  a  preliminary  we 
quote  it  because  of  its  singular  beauty  and  clearness. 
"That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have 
heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have 
looked  upon,  and  our  hands  have  handled,  of  the  Word 
of  Life.  For  the  Life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen 
it,  and  bear  witness,  and  show  unto  you  .  ,  .  that  which 
we  have  seen  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you." 

In  this  there  is  positive  statement  of  an  external 
reality.  The  reality  was  of  the  most  thorough  character, 
it  was  itself  an  Eternal  reality.  This  "real  being"  had 
been  manifested ;  it  was  incorporated  in  a  material 
organism,  having  an  independent,  abiding  existence, 
that  could  be  seen,  heard,  and  handled.  It  was  intelli- 
gently apprehended  by  sight,  hearing  and  touch,  and 
that,  which  was  declared  to  be  real  and  true  and  to 
which  witness  was  given  that  it  was  real  and  true,  was 
the  thing  known  by  being  itself  heard,  seen,  looked  upon 
and  handled.  Here  is  the  clear  statement  that  the  very 
thing  which  we  see,  look  upon,  hear  and  handle  is  real 
and  true. 

"That  which  we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with 
our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon,  and  our  hands 
have  handled,  declare  we  unto  you,"  "  bear  witness," 
"  show  unto  you." 

13 


194  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sbc. 

Dlffere  from  pbilosopbers 


Nothing  can  be  more  evident  than  that  the  writer  of 
these  words  believed  and  meant  to  affirm  the  objective 
reality  of  what  he  saw,  looked  upon,  heard  and  handled, 
and  that  it  was  in  itself  what  he  thus  knew  it  to  be.  He 
cognized  directly  the  realities  themselves  which  were 
presented  to  him  by  the  organs  of  perception,  and  was 
sure  that  his  knowledge  was  true.  He  expected  men  to 
receive  with  confidence  what  he  declared  to  them,  as 
that  which  he  himself  had  heard,  seen,  looked  upon  and 
had  handled  with  his  own  hands.  To  him  such  knowl- 
edge was  indubitable,  as  it  was  also  to  Thomas  who, 
when  the  risen  Lord  showed  him  his  hands,  feet  and 
side,  threw  away  every  misgiving,  saying  in  assured 
faith  "My  Lord  and  my  God." 

It  is  worthy  of  special  note  that  the  presentation  given 
in  the  passage  quoted,  is  radically  different  from  that  of 
the  philosophers  who  affirm  that  we  perceive  only  the 
Primary  Qualities  and  that  all  else  is  "Sensation."  In 
the  passage  before  us,  there  is  a  clear  and  bold  belief  and 
declaration  that  the  conception  of  the  external  reality, 
given  by  sight,  hearing  and  touch  is  equally  real  and 
true  in  all  its  parts,  it  is  a  unit,  it  stands  out  in  its  un- 
broken and  undivided  integrity  as  an  objective  reality. 
It  seems,  indeed,  almost  as  though  the  writer  designed 
by  his  choice  of  words  to  prevent  any  other  supposition. 
He  says  "which  our  hands  have  handled,"  as  though 
that,  towards  which  he  stretched  out  his  hands  and 
touched,  were  an  independent  object  in  all  points  such 
as  he  apprehended  it  to  be;  and  by  explaining  "seeing 
with  our  eyes"  by  the  expression  "which  we  have  looked 
upon,"  he  yet  again  puts  a  gulf  of  separation  between 
himself  and  the  object  seen,  as  though  he  confidently 
believed  that  the  total  vision,  he  beheld,  were  a  real 
object  up07i  which  he  looked  as  from  a  distance,  a  belief 
which  is  the  common  assurance  of  all  men,  as  we  shall 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  195 

IRealfties  Seen,  "toanDIcJ).  "fcearD 


notice  again.  And  still  further,  he  speaks  of  sound  as 
itself  truly  objective,  for  he  places  it,  equally  with  that 
which  he  apprehends  by  sight,  and  touch,  as  the  reality 
which  he  declared  and  showed,  and  as  the  sure  proof  of 
the  truth  to  which  he  bore  witness  ;  "  that  which  we  have 
seen,  handled  and  heard  declare  we  unto  you."  Evidently 
to  him  light,  color,  sound  and  that  which  is  apprehended 
by  touch,  are  equally  objective  realities. 

The  passage,  which  we  have  quoted  for  its  beauty  and 
clearness,  is  the  true  presentation  of  the  testimony  of 
Consciousness  as  to  External  Perception.  It  is  ex- 
pressed in  popular  language  and  this  is  its  peculiar 
worth.  Being  popular  in  language,  it  expresses  exactly 
public  opinion,  popular  sentiment,  the  conception  of 
man  as  man,  the  assurance  of  our  race,  the  confident 
belief  of  all  children,  of  all  adults,  of  all  educated  and 
cultured  ones,  except  in  so  far  as  these  have  been  led 
astray  by  false  theories  of  their  own ;  and  even  these 
irresistibly  return  to  the  common  intuitions  in  their  daily 
life,  casting  their  theories  aside. 

This  general  assurance  is  one  of  the  strongest  proofs, 
which  we  can  have,  of  the  truth  of  any  particular  inter- 
pretation of  Consciousness. 

Such  being  popular  sentiment,  the  careful  statement 
and  examination  of  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness  as 
to  External  Perception  will  afiford  a  theory  not  contrary 
to,  but  in  accord  with  this  confirmed  belief  of  mankind. 

Testimony  of  Consciousness 

We  are  conscious  that  we  are  intelligent  beings,  that 
we  possess  knowledge,  that  we  may  and  do  add  to 
our  knowledge.  We  are  conscious  that  we  take  knowl- 
edge of  things  which  are,  and  which  in  some  way  are 
presented  to  us  that  we  may  know  them.  This  is  ex- 
pressed also  by  the  word  "to  cognize;"  to  cognize  is  to 


196  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

I  yibanltolD  Cognittons  2  ^wo  ©roups 


take   knowledge   of.     Thus  we  are  distinctly  conscious 
that  we  have  the  power  of  cognizing. 

I.  In  the  exercise  of  this  attribute,  we  are  conscious 
that  we  take  knowledge  of  a  vast  array  of  things  of  the 
most  varied  character,  which  are  continually  coming  and 
going,  presenting  themselves,  vanishing  away  and  reap- 
pearing, as  though  we  had  before  us  an  endless  proces- 
sion, or  an  ever-moving  panorama  of  complex  relations 
pressing  and  crowding  upon  one  another.  Thus  we 
cognize  our  own  being,  we  know  that  we  are.  We 
cognize  multitudinous  thoughts,  imaginings,  reasonings, 
emotions,  pleasures,  pains,  joys  and  sorrows,  hopes, 
fears,  desires,  aspirations,  power,  effort,  determinations, 
volitions,  our  bodily  frame  with  its  members,  and 
the  boundless  wonders  and  beauties  of  the  realm  of 
Nature,  with  every  hue,  tone  and  shade  of  color,  and 
voices  and  songs,  music,  whisperings  and  thunders,  per- 
fumes and  flavors,  expansion,  force,  vapors,  liquids  and 
figured  moving  solid  bodies.  Such  is  something  of  the 
vast  array  of  things  of  which  we  take  knowledge.  As  to 
this  the  testimony  of  Consciousness  is  absolutely  un- 
mistakable. 

2.  With  all  this  material  spread  out  before  us,  we  are 
definitely  conscious  as  we  cognize  these  things,  that, 
complex  and  interwoven  as  they  are  with  one  another, 
we  take  knowledge  of  their  differences  and  arrange  and 
classify  them.  We  are  conscious  that  there  is  a  radical, 
or  fundamental  distinction  running  between  them,  sepa- 
rating them  into  two  groups.  The  number  of  these 
groups  are  very  dissimilar  among  themselves,  but  those 
of  the  respective  groups  are  all  bound  together  by  a 
common  characteristic.  We  place  such  as  thoughts, 
emotions,  volitions  in  one  class,  and  those  having  exten- 
sion, figure,  solidity,  color,  sound,  perfume,  etc.,  into 
another.     We  are  distinctly  conscious   that   the  radical 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED  197 

Contraries  3  :attributc6 


distinction  between  these  classes  is  of  a  twofold  charac- 
ter; thus — 

We  are  distinctly  conscious,  that  every  thing  which 
may  be  included  within  thought,  emotion,  volition  be- 
longs to  ourselves ;  they  are  qualities,  attributes,  activi- 
ties of  our  own  being;  they  belong  to  the  realm  of 
"Self."  We  are  no  less  distinctly  conscious  that  the 
other  things,  such  as  extension,  figure,  solidity,  color, 
sound,  etc.,  are  not  our  own;  they  are  not  qualities, 
attributes,  activities  of  our  own  being ;  they  belong  to 
the  realm  of  "not  Self."  The  second  characteristic,  is 
that  the  things  of  the  one  class  are  incompatible  with 
those  of  the  other.  They  are  parted  from  one  another 
by  an  impassable  gulf  of  separation.  We  are  definitely 
and  positively  conscious  that  they  are  contraries;  what 
the  one  class  is  the  other  is  not.  What  is  affirmed  of 
the  one  is  denied  of  the  other.  The  one  has  thought, 
emotion,  volition,  the  other  has  no  thought,  no  emotion, 
no  volition;  the  one  has  extension,  figure,  solidity,  color, 
sound,  etc.,  the  other  has  none  of  these.  Contradicting 
one  another,  the  things  of  the  realm  of  "Self"  cannot 
be  interchanged  with  those  of  the  realm  of  "not  Self," 
and  there  can  be  no  combination,  nor  coalescing  of  these 
discordant  qualities,  attributes,  activities,  no  union  of 
them  forming  an  intermediate. 

3.  We  are  still  further  conscious,  that  all  these  things 
of  which  we  take  cognizance  have  real  being  and  must 
be  attributes,  qualities,  activities  of  two  substances,  those 
of  the  one  class  belonging  to  one  substance  and  those  of 
the  other  to  the  other  one  of  the  two,  and  that  these  sub- 
stances must  be  contrary  to  one  another.  The  one  has 
been  named  Spirit  and  the  other  Matter.  Our  Conscious- 
ness, clear  and  bold,  is  that  of  the  essential  distinction 
between  the  Spiritual  and  the  Material.  The  one  is  the 
realm  of  "Self,"— the  other  is  the  realm  of  "not-Self." 


198  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

4  ail  Co0nf3c5  In  tbc  Same  '(KHas 


The  attributes  of  the  former  of  these  two  are  the  attri- 
butes of  Spirit,  the  attributes  of  the  other  are  the  attri- 
butes of  Matter.  Substituting  the  designations  Spirit 
and  Matter  for  those  of  "Self"  and  "not  Self,"  the 
Consciousness,  mentioned  above  as  to  the  contrary 
character  of  the  two  classes  of  attributes,  is  our  Con- 
sciousness of  the  attributes  of  these  two  substances. 
The  one  cannot  have  the  attributes  of  the  other.  Matter 
cannot  have  thought,  emotion,  volition.  Spirit  cannot 
be  extended,  liquid,  solid,  figured,  it  cannot  be  red, 
yellow,  blue  nor  any  combination  of  these  colors,  it  can- 
not be  orange,  green,  purple  ;  it  cannot  be  sweetly  per- 
fumed, nor  can  it  be  bitter  and  acid ;  it  cannot  be  a  hot 
and  cold  spirit,  nor  itself  resonant  with  sound,  a  low  and 
loud  sounding  spirit.  The  striking  absurdity  of  such 
suggestions  shows  how  unmistakably,  positively  Con- 
sciousness afifirms  the  material  character  of  these  things. 
4.  Again,  we  are  conscious  that  in  taking  knowledge 
of  the  things  of  "Self"  and  "not  Self,"  we  cognize  them 
all  in  the  same  way.  When  certain  thoughts  and  imagi- 
nations are  before  us,  we  are  conscious  of  them ;  they 
are  present  and  we  simply  know,  that  we  know  them. 
Thus  it  is  in  regard  to  all  the  innumerable  things  of  the 
realm  of  "  Self."  In  like  manner  when  we  cognize  the 
things  of  "  not  Self,"  such  as  extension,  figure,  solidity, 
color,  sound  we  are  conscious  of  them,  they  are  present 
and  we  simply  know  that  we  know  them.  It  is  as 
though  there  were  one  vision  of  the  Soul  wherewith  we 
look  equally  upon  the  two  realms,  now  upon  the  things 
of  one,  now  upon  the  things  of  the  other,  according  as 
we  direct  our  vision  to  the  one,  or  the  other.  Our 
definite  Consciousness  is  that  there  is  no  difference  in 
our  apprehension  of  all  these  things;  the  spiritual  and 
the  material  are  equally  apprehended  by  direct  cognition. 
Consciousness  also  testifies  that  in  taking  knowledge  of 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  199 

5  Bre  TKHbat  voe  fjnow  tbem  to  be 


the  things  of  "not  Self"  we  know  of  no  difference  in 
our  apprehension  of  them.  However  dissimilar  they 
may  be,  they  are  all  cognized  alike.  Extension,  figure, 
solidity,  color,  sound,  perfume,  flavor  are  present,  we 
are  equally  conscious  of  them  all ;  we  simply  know  that 
we  know  them, 

5.  Still  further,  we  are  conscious  that  the  things  of 
"Self"  and  "not  Self,"  which  we  cognize,  are  in  them- 
selves what  we  know  them  to  be.  We  are  conscious 
that  they  are  realities.  We  know  that  we  ourselves  have 
real  being.  And  we  know  equally  well  that  all  the  varied 
things,  presented  to  us  and  of  which  we  take  knowledge, 
have  real  being  likewise.  The  ground  of  this  knowledge 
is  the  same  in  both  cases.  If  there  are  certain  thoughts, 
imaginations,  etc.,  before  me,  I  am  perfectly  conscious 
that  they  are.  Their  actual  being  is  that  of  which  I  am 
conscious;  and  if  there  are  certain  things  of  "not  Self" 
before  me,  such  as  an  extended,  figured,  solid,  colored 
body,  I  am  perfectly  conscious  that  it  is.  Its  actual 
being  is  that  of  which  I  am  conscious.  And  as  we  are 
thus  conscious  that  the  things  of  which  we  take  knowl- 
edge are  realities,  we  are  conscious  that  it  is  the  very 
thifigs  themselves,  which  we  know.  In  being  conscious 
of  mine  own  real  being,  I  am  conscious  of  myself.  In 
being  conscious  of  the  real  being  of  certain  thoughts  and 
imaginings,  it  is  of  these  thoughts  and  imaginings  them- 
selves that  I  am  conscious.  In  being  conscious  of  the 
real  being  of  a  particular  extended,  figured,  solid,  colored 
body,  it  is  of  this  thing  itself  that  I  am  conscious. 

Being  thus  conscious,  as  we  assuredly  know  ourselves 
to  be,  of  these  things  themselves  in  their  own  real  being, 
we  know  that  they  are  what  we  know  them  to  be.  Thus 
we  know  that  we  are  what  we  know  ourselves  to  be ;  we 
know  that  our  thoughts  and  imaginings,  etc.,  are  what 
we  know  them  to  be;  and  we  know  that  the  blue  sky, 


200  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

6  IFntalllbiUtB 


the  sun,  moon  and  stars,  the  moving  clouds  of  ever- 
changing  shape  and  color,  from  dazzling  white  to  darkest 
shades  of  thunder  storms,  the  forked  flashes  of  vivid 
lightning,  the  rolling  reverberating  thunder,  the  diversi- 
fied mountain  ranges,  and  towering  snow-clad  mountain 
peaks,  the  valleys  and  plains  covered  with  green  forests 
and  herbage,  golden  harvests  and  adorned  with  flowers 
of  every  hue  and  fragrance  and  white  with  the  covering 
of  snow,  the  lakes,  rivers,  sounding  water-falls,  the  foam- 
ing, loud-sounding,  rising  and  falling  waves  and  breakers 
of  the  far-spreading  ocean,  the  variegated,  gorgeous 
plumage  and  the  songs  of  birds,  the  unnumbered  voices 
of  Nature,  the  whole  marvellous  Cosmos,  all  are  what  we 
know  them  to  be ;  our  knowledge,  so  far  as  it  goes,  is 
real  and  true,  we  are  conscious  of  these  realities.  This 
is  a  consciousness  which  we  all  have  and  from  which  no 
one  ever  has  and  no  one  can  set  himself  free. 

6,  We  are  also  conscious  of  the  Infallibility  of  the 
cognizance,  or  knowledge,  which  we  take  of  the  things 
of  "Self"  and  "not-Self."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  we  have 
perfect  confidence  in  such  knowledge.  This  is  indeed 
but  the  statement  of  that  which  we  have  just  mentioned 
above.  As  we  are  conscious  of  the  reality  of  our  own 
being  and  of  the  real  being  of  the  things  of  "Self"  and 
"not-Self,"  that  is  of  these  things  themselves  as  they 
actually  are,  there  is  no  room  nor  possibility  for  error 
in  such  knowledge.  Error  would  involve  a  manifest 
contradiction  ;  we  would  be  conscious  of  that  which  is 
and  conscious  of  it,  because  it  is,  and  yet,  that  which  is 
would  not  be.  Conscious  of  such  glaring  self-evident 
contradiction,  we  rest  assured  of  the  infallible  character 
of  our  cognizing  the  things  of  "Self"  and  "not-Self." 
This  finds  expression  in  the  familiar  proverb  "to  see  is 
to  believe;"  and  this  is  the  sure  foundation  of  all  the 
modern  inductive  material  sciences.    They  are  built  upon 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  201 

"Mo  /iRention  of  "  Senses  " 


observed  facts  and  derive  all  their  certainity  from  the  re- 
liability of  observation. 

The  simple  reason,  why  the  Testimony  of  Conscious- 
ness is  Infallible,  is  because  by  Consciousness  we  take 
direct  knowledge  of  the  things  which  are  and  which  are 
present  to  us.  Such  is  this  known  Infallibility,  that  we 
not  only  have  perfect  confidence  in  it,  but  also  cannot 
rid  ourselves  of  the  assurance  which  it  gives  us. 

The  Statement,  which  we  have  given  of  the  Testimony 
of  Consciousness,  must  commend  itself  to  all  as  manifestly 
correct.  Each  successive  affirmation  is  evidently  true; 
its  truth  may  be  confirmed  by  each  one  for  himself, 
through  the  examination  of  his  own  consciousness. 

I.  The  Criticis7n  ca^inot  be  made  that  the  statement 
given  is  incomplete  because  there  is  no  mention  made  of 
the  so-called  "Senses."  The  reason  is  because  there  is 
no  place,  no  room  for  them.  They  do  not  come  within 
the  sphere  or  range  of  our  Consciousness  as  to  the  cog- 
nition of  external  realities.  The  statements  made  exclude 
such  sensations,  positively  deny  them.  The  testimony  is 
that  the  things,  of  which  we  take  knowledge,  are  divided 
into  two  classes,  that  of  "Self"  and  that  of  "not-Self," 
and  into  these  two  classes  alone ;  that  color,  sound,  per- 
fume, flavor,  etc.,  belong  to  the  things  of  "not-Self." 
This  testimony  is  as  distinct  and  positive  as  that  exten- 
sion, figure,  solidity,  belong  to  this  same  class.  There 
is  no  distinction  between  all  these ;  they  are  all  equally 
the  qualities  of  "  not-Self,"  none  of  these  can  be  trans- 
ferred or  attributed  to  "Self;"  this  can  no  more  be  col- 
ored, resonant,  etc.,  than  it  can  be  extended,  figured, 
liquid,  solid.  Moreover,  there  is  no  mention  made  of  the 
so-called  "  Senses,"  because  there  are  none.  The  things 
which  are  so  called  are  Perceptions.  Consciousness  tes- 
tifies, that  we  do  not  feel  color,  sound,  perfume,  etc.;  we 
cognize,  take  knowledge  of  them,  y^t  perceive  them. 


202  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

■fflo  Mention  of  ©rgans  ot  perception 


2.  Again,  zV  cannot  be  objected,  that  there  is  no  men- 
tion made  of  our  bodily  organs  of  Perception.  This  is 
because  the  Consciousness  presented  is  strictly  that  of 
the  cognition  itself  of  external  realities.  In  taking 
knowledge  of  these,  we  are  not  conscious  of  the  organs 
of  perception,  though  we  indeed  know  that  we  have  and 
use  them.  When  we  see,  it  is  not  the  wonderfully  con- 
structed eye  which  we  see,  but  the  vision  upon  which  we 
look;  when  we  hear,  it  is  not  the  ear,  but  the  sound 
which  we  hear;  when  we  handle  an  object,  it  is  not  our 
finger-tips  which  we  cognize,  but  the  solidity,  the  shape, 
size,  character  of  the  object  handled;  when  the  blind 
pass  their  finger-tips  over  the  embossed  paper,  prepared 
for  them,  that  of  which  they  take  knowledge  are  the  let- 
ters and  the  words  and  thereby  the  meaning  which  they 
convey. 

The  illustration,  which  we  have  already  used  more 
than  once,  is  that  taken  from  scientific  instruments.  The 
scientist  sees  not  the  telescope  and  microscope,  though 
he  knows  that  he  has  and  uses  them,  but  the  things 
which  these  instruments  bring  within  his  range  of  vision 
and  present  to  him.  It  is  not  the  telephone,  which  men 
far  separated  hear,  but  the  words  spoken  from  afar  which 
it  brings  to  them. 

The  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  which  we  have  given, 
being  that  of  Cognition  itself,  the  consideration  of  the 
bodily  organs  of  Perception  will  be  presented  in  due 
order. 

In  the  exposition  given  of  True  Sensation,  we  have 
presented  at  some  length  the  proofs  that  color,  sound 
etc.  are  not  sensations.  In  so  doing  we  pointed  out, 
that  if  they  were  such,  "Idealism"  would  be  inevitable. 

Here  we  make  this  the  more  emphatic  by  showing, 
that  if  the  theory  of  "sense-perception"  be  true,  the 
primary  qualities  no  less  than   the  secondary  must  be 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  203 

Sense  perception  an&  H&ealism 


subjective,  and  we  would  have  no  knowledge  of  the  ex- 
ternal world,  except,  perhaps,  as  an  occult  cause;  the 
conception  which  we  form  of  it  would  have  no  objective 
reality. 

a.  According  to  the  theory  of  "Sense-Perception," 
our  communication  with  the  external  world  is  by  our 
senses,  or  sensations.  Were  we  deprived  of  the  five,  or 
six  which  we  are  supposed  to  have,  we  would  be  abso- 
lutely cut  off  from  the  world  and  would  be  in  total 
ignorance  of  its  existence.  Were  we  blind  and  deaf  and 
without  smell,  taste  and  touch,  or  feeling  and  the  mus- 
cular sense,  every  avenue  of  knowledge  would  be  want- 
ing. Sensation,  therefore,  is  everything.  All  that  we 
actually  perceive  is  sensation.  The  so-called  primary 
qualities  depend  upon  it.  If  we  perceive  extension, 
shape,  size  by  sight,  it  is  only  as  we  perceive  color  as 
extended,  figured  and  of  a  certain  size.  Take  the  color 
away  and  these  all  immediately  depart.  The  extension, 
shape,  size  depend  upon  the  color,  they  are  the  qualities 
of  it  and  have  no  more  objective  reality  than  color  itself 
has. 

b.  Again,  if  we  perceive  extension,  shape,  size,  weight, 
solidity  by  touch,  it  is  only  as  we  perceive  the  peculiar 
sensations  having  these  characteristics.  Take  these 
peculiar  sensations  away  and  every  thing  is  gone.  That 
which  we  perceive  is  the  sensation  of  extension,  size, 
weight,  solidity;  these  all  depend  upon  the  sensations 
and  of  them  they  are  the  qualities,  and  can  have  no  more 
objective  reality  than  the  sensations  themselves.  If  by 
the  muscular  sense  we  perceive  force,  or  resistance,  it  is 
only  as  we  perceive  the  peculiar  sensation  having  this 
characteristic.  Take  the  sensation  away  and  the  force, 
or  resistance  which  depends  upon  it  and  is  its  quality, 
departs  also.  The  two,  the  sensation  and  the  force  its 
quality,  are  equally  subjective. 


204  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

©rimaris  (Slualiticg  Subjecttvc 


c.  It  cannot  be  claimed,  as  has  been  done,  that  two, 
or  more  sensations  are  perceived  as  apart  from  one 
another  and  that  thus  we  have  the  perception  of  exten- 
sion, for  here  again  everything  depends  upon  the  sen- 
sations, and  there  can  be  no  objective  reaHty  which  the 
sensations  themselves  have  not.  Moreover,  the  very 
supposition  is  itself  an  impossibility;  for  sensations  can- 
not be  apart  from  one  another,  except  as  they  are 
localized  as  arising  from,  or  caused  by  dififerent  parts  of 
an  already  perceived  and  known  extended  body;  feel- 
ings, "sensations,"  are  affections  of  the  one  indivisible 
Soul,  and  have  and  can  have  no  apartness  among  them- 
selves. 

d.  Again,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that,  as  an  actual  fact, 
the  primary  qualities  have  an  objective  reality  and  that, 
when  in  sense  perception  we  are  conscious  of  the  sensa- 
tions having  these  qualities,  such  an  extension  etc.,  we 
cognize  the  fact  that  there  is  a  distinction  between  these 
qualities  of  the  sensations  and  the  others  which  they 
have;  that  the  former  are  objective  and  the  latter  sub- 
jective. This  is  impossible  because  qualities  cannot  be 
both  objective  and  subjective;  if  they  belong  to  "Self," 
they  cannot  belong  to  "not-Self." 

We  have  just  pointed  out,  that  extension,  etc.,  are 
qualities  of  color  and  of  that  which  is  apprehended  by 
touch.  If  these  be  sensations  as  "sense-perception" 
requires,  these  are  themselves  subjective  also  and  can 
have  no  objective  reality.  Still  further,  if,  as  according 
to  "  sense- perception,"  that  which  the  "senses"  present 
to  us  be  sensations,  there  can  be  no  presentation  to  us 
by  them  of  that  which  is  objective  for  us  to  take  knowl- 
edge of:  that  which  is  itself  subjective  can  present  only 
that  which  is  subjective. 

e.  Yet  again,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that  in  "  sense-per- 
ception "  we  have  both  perception  and  sensation,  appre- 


REALITIES  COGNIZED  205 

SccorMtifl  to  Sense  perception 


bending  by  tbe  former  tbe  primary  quaUties  and  by  the 
latter  the  secondary.  This  would  no  longer  be  sense- 
perception.  It  would  not  be  perception  of  the  sensa- 
tions, nor  by,  nor  through  them,  nor  of  that  which  is 
presented  by  them ;  they  present  only  themselves.  The 
Perception  would  be  independent  of  sensation,  it  would 
be  beyond  and  above  it.  We  would  be  conscious  of  the 
sensation,  which  is  purely  subjective,  and  aside  from  this, 
we  would  directly  cognize  that  which  has  objective 
reality,  but  for  the  presentation  of  which  to  us  no  provi- 
sion is  made.  Thus  perception  is  obtained  by  the  de- 
struction of  the  theory  itself. 

f.  Moreover,  these  two  independent  activities,  con- 
joined to  form  the  so-called  "sense-perception,"  are 
contradicted  by  the  testimony  of  Consciousness,  which 
affirms  that  the  so-called  Primary  Qualities,  extension, 
etc.,  are  essential  qualities  of  color  and  of  that  which  is 
apprehended  by  touch;  and  that  both  of  these  things  are 
external  reahties ;  as  are  also  sound,  perfume,  flavor, 
force.  Instead,  therefore,  of  two  conjoined  activities 
forming  "  Sense-Perception,"  there  is  but  one,  that  of 
Perception  itself  in  its  own  simplicity. 

The  above  considerations  show,  conclusively,  that  by 
Sense  Perception  we  are  as  ignorant  of  the  so-called 
Primary  as  we  are  of  the  Secondary  Qualities,  and  that 
such  perception  can  give  us  no  conception  of  the  ex- 
ternal world  as  it  in  reality  is.  It  is  certain,  that  on  the 
supposition  of  "sense  perception"  the  world  is  not  such 
as  all  men  suppose  it  to  be.  Pure  Idealism  is  estab- 
lished. 

From  all  that  has  thus  been  said  it  is  evident  why,  in 
the  statement  given  of  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness 
as  to  External  Perception  there  is,  and  there  can  be  no 
mention  made  of  sensations;  to  do  so  would  be  the  intro- 
duction of  that  which  is  altogether  foreign  to  it. 


2o6  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec 

Scientific  IDlcw  in  Bgrcement 


It  is  to  be  remembered  that  true  sensation,  the  reflex 
feehng  within  the  Soul  of  pleasure  and  pain,  is  present, 
but  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  Perception  itself. 

The  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  which  we  have  given, 
affords  the  True  Theory  of  Exter7ial  Perception,  and  in 
a  plain,  unmistakable  way.  There  is  no  need  for  painful 
research  and  elaboration  ;  the  mere  statement  of  the  Tes- 
timony is  itself  the  presentation  of  what  External  Per- 
ception is. 

As  we  have  stated  it,  Consciousness  testifies  that  we 
as  intelligent  beings  are  endowed  with  the  power  of  di- 
rectly cognizing  equally  and  in  the  same  way  the  things 
of  "Self"  and  of  "not-Self,"  that  is  of  Spirit  and  of 
Matter ;  that  in  so  doing  we  cognize  all  the  things  of 
"not-Self"  as  having  "real  objective  being"  equally. 
It  is  these  real  things  themselves  that  we  take  knowledge 
of,  and  we  know  that  they  are  what  we  know  them  to 
be ;  as  far  as  we  directly  cognize,  ours  is  an  infallible 
knowledge  of  the  extended,  figured,  sounding,  colored, 
world — with  its  perfumes  and  flavors  and  the  activities  of 
its  manifested  forces. 

Our  Conception  of  it  in  all  these  respects  is  real  and 
true. 

Such  is  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness  as  we  under- 
stand it,  and  our  interpretation  is  confirmed  by  the  uni- 
versal judgment  of  mankind.  Nothing  can  be  more 
assured  than  that  which  rests  upon  the  self-evidently 
correct  statement  of  Consciousness  and  the  established 
and  unvarying  assurance  of  men. 

Here  we  have  a  Scientific  View  which  is  not  contrary 
to,  but  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  popular.  The  two 
are  one ;  the  same  words  are  equally  applicable  to  them 
both.  "  That  which  we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen 
with  our  eyes,  which  we  have  looked  upon  and  our  hands 
have  handled  we  know  to  be  real  and  true." 


I  REALITIES  COGNIZED  207 

witb  Zbc  popular  ©rsans  /llbaterial 


This  view  receives  further  unfolding  and  confirmation 
from  the  consideration  of  the  Organs  of  Perception. 
The  proper  presentation  of  these  will  give  a  better  un- 
derstanding of  it,  will  show  it  to  be  free  from  difficulties 
and  inconsistencies  and  that  it  affords  the  solution  of 
problems  otherwise  inexplicable.  The  consideration  of 
these  Organs  here  naturally  arises. 

Section  II     The  Organs  of  Perception 

In  speaking  as  we  have  done  of  Sensation  and  Percep- 
tion, much  has  already  been  said  revealing  the  true 
nature  of  these  organs.  They  are  the  material  instru- 
ments, or  means,  each  constructed  for  its  own  purpose, 
by  which  objective  realities  are  presented  to  the  Soul  and 
which  the  Soul  uses  to  reach  them,  as  these  organs  are 
under  its  voluntary  control.  We  use  them  or  not,  and 
direct  them  to  these  objects  or  those,  and  with  greater 
or  less  intensity  of  scrutiny  according  to  our  pleasure. 
They  do  not  confer  power  upon  the  Soul,  no  more  than 
do  scientific  instruments  upon  those  who  use  them  ;  in 
both  cases  there  is  simply  the  employment  of  means  by 
already  existing  agents. 

Although  the  Soul  is  endowed  with  the  power  of 
directly  cognizing  external  things,  it  is  evident  that  this 
is  not  unlimited. 

By  the  instruments  which  they  have  devised,  men  have 
greatly  augmented  their  bodily  organs  of  perception ; 
the  increase,  however,  is  entirely  within  the  instruments, 
by  means  of  which  the  organs  are  used  to  greater  advan- 
tage. Thus  by  the  various  optical  instruments  the  range 
of  vision  has  been  enlarged  to  a  most  remarkable  degree; 
by  them  men  see  that  to  which  they  would  otherwise  be 
totally  blind ;  by  instruments  such  as  the  trumpet,  the 
speaking  tube,  the  transmitter  and  receiver  of  the  tele- 
phone, the  phonograph,  the  range  of  voice  and  hearing 


2o8  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

■ffnstruments  DevlseD  b^  /nben 


has  been  enlarged,  so  that  we  hear  that  to  which  we 
would  otherwise  be  entirely  deaf;  the  range  of  Touch 
has  been  augmented ;  the  blind,  and  others  likewise,  by 
a  staff,  or  cane  feel  the  ground  before  they  step  upon  it 
and  objects  before  they  come  to  them;  by  long  lines  and 
the  far-reaching  lash  of  the  whip  the  driver  feels  the 
mouths  of  the  horses  of  his  four  in  hand,  touches  their 
bodies  and  guides  and  controls  them ;  by  pruning  shears 
and  bags  on  end  of  an  extended  handle  men  cut  the  top- 
most boughs  of  trees  and  gather  fruit  far  beyond  their 
reach ;  by  long  cables  and  chains  men  extend  their  arms 
and  hands  to  deepest  depths  of  mines  and  draw  up 
material  from  them;  by  the  '"sounding-line"  men  on 
shipboard  touch  the  ocean-bottom  thousands  of  fathoms 
deep,  feel  its  character  and  contour,  map  out  its  geog- 
raphy and  bring  up  specimens  for  examination ;  by  the 
"life-line"  men  of  the  life-saving  stations  reach  and 
bring  safe  to  land  the  crew  and  passengers  of  the  far  off 
stranded  ship ;  by  levers,  ropes,  and  pulleys,  windlass, 
screws,  inclined-planes,  rollers  surprising  results  are 
accomplished  far  beyond  our  muscular  strength.  Archi- 
medes truly  claimed  that,  with  proper  lever  and  fulcrum, 
he  could  lift  the  world;  in  these  days,  scientific  observa- 
tion enabling  them,  scientists  place  their  hands  beneath 
suns  and  planets  and  feel  and  tell  their  weight ;  by  sling, 
bow  and  arrows  men  reach  with  destructive  blows  far  off 
men  and  wild  game,  and  by  the  modern  rifle  bring  them 
down  at  a  mile  range  distance.  That  which  is  thus  done 
for  our  bodily  organs  by  invented  instruments  the  bodily 
organs  themselves  do  for  the  cognizing  attribute  of  the 
Soul ;  they  enable  the  Soul  to  use  this  to  an  advantage, 
which  would  without  them  be  impossible,  because  of  the 
limited  character  of  this  attribute.  This  limitation, 
moreover,  is  made  strikingly  apparent  by  the  increase  of 
its    range,   given    by   the   increased   range  of  the  bodily 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  209 

©rflans  bring  IRealltics  to  tbe  Soul 


organs,  due  to  invented  instruments,  as  just  described. 
The  Soul  needs  these  bodily  organs  because  of  its  own 
limited  power  of  perception. 

Still  further,  although  the  Soul  has  the  power  of 
directly  cognizing  external  realities,  it  is  not  omnipres- 
ent, and  hence  can  take  knowledge,  not  of  all  things,  but 
only  of  that  which  is  within  its  limited  presence,  or 
which  is  brought  and  presented  to  it,  confined  within  its 
own  sphere.  The  essential  character  of  direct  cognition 
is,  that  it  takes  knowledge  only  of  that  which  is  imme- 
diately present.  Hence,  again,  it  is  evident  that  the 
bodily  organs  are  necessary.  They  are  needed  to  bring 
and  present  objective  realities  to  the  Soul,  and  the  Soul 
uses  them  for  this  purpose,  in  order  that  it,  unable  to  go 
beyond  its  own  sphere,  may  directly  cognize  that  which 
would  otherwise  be  beyond  its  reach,  just  as  the  astron- 
omer, and  microscopist  need  and  use  their  instruments 
to  observe  that  which  is  beyond  their  reach. 

Among  these  bodily  organs,  those  which  furnish  our 
locomotive,  or  automobile  power  are  of  most  remarkable 
advantage;  by  them  we  direct  our  eyes;  change  their 
focus;  turn  our  heads;  we  reach  forth  our  hands;  dilate 
our  nostrils  with  inhalation ;  and  move  our  whole  person 
towards  things  which  we  wish  to  know,  thus  bringing 
them  to  the  other  organs,  to  be  by  them  immediately 
presented  to  the  indwelling  Soul,  omnipresent  in  every 
part  of  the  body  and  all  its  organs. 

Again,  these  organs  are  needed  because  of  what  we 
have  called  the  need  of  Delicacy  of  Presentatio7t  of 
material  objects  to  the  Soul. 

The  Soul  itself  is  a  being  of  the  most  exaltedly  refined 
nature  separated  from  the  material  world  by  an  impas- 
sable gulf  of  separation,  a  gulf  which  is  crossed  only  by 
the  miraculous  power  of  the  Soul,  in  the  sense  which 
we  have  pointed  out,  and  not  in  any  way  whatever  by 
14 


2IO  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  s«c. 

Zbe  "QClorlJ)  too  ©roes  for  tbe  Soul 


the  bodily  organs ;  they  are  confined  strictly  within  the 
material  sphere.  But,  miraculous  though  the  power  of 
the  Soul  be,  it  is  of  a  very  limited  character.  The  light- 
ning can  leap  from  the  liigh  elevated  cloud  to  the  distant 
earth  beneath,  while  the  feeble  current  of  electricity, 
flowing  along  a  wire,  can  pass  with  its  flash  of  light  only 
over  the  slightest  break  in  the  continuity  of  its  con- 
ductor. So  the  Soul,  because  of  its  limited  miraculous 
power,  can  pass  the  gulf  of  separation  between  the 
material  and  the  spiritual  only  under  the  most  advanta- 
geous circumstances.  The  external  world  is  too  great 
and  gross,  as  it  were,  for  the  Soul  to  cognize  it  in  its 
greatness  and  grossness.  It  must  itself  be  presented, 
reduced,  refined,  made  delicate  for  the  Soul's  apprehen- 
sion of  it. 

If  we  stand  close  up  against  the  wall  of  a  Gothic 
Cathedral,  or  close  at  the  foot  of  a  snow-capped  moun- 
tain, we  would  see  nothing  of  them.  We  must  take  up 
our  position  at  a  favorable  point  of  view,  where  in  per- 
spective the  cathedral,  in  all  its  beautiful  proportions  and 
rich  carvings,  and  the  mountain  from  base  to  summit 
may  be  revealed  to  us;  if  a  camera,  with  the  lens  re- 
moved, be  directed  at  a  landscape  no  impression  of  it 
will  be  made  on  the  sensitive  plate,  the  picture  is  made 
thereon  only  when  the  scattered  rays  of  light  are  gath- 
ered, and  brought  to  a  focus  upon  the  plate;  if  the 
embossed  letters,  for  the  blind  to  read,  were  of  colossal 
size,  they  would  be  of  no  value,  they  must  be  made  of  a 
size  suitable  for  the  delicate  finger-tips  to  feel  and  know. 
So  also  the  external  world  must  be  presented  in  a  re- 
fined way,  with  proper  perspective,  right  focus,  delicate 
shape,  suitable  for  the  Soul,  or  be  unapprehended  by  it, 
except,  perhaps,  as  a  confused  and  blurred  perception. 

This  is  the  actual  work  which  is  done  by  our  bodily 
organs,  and  which  without  them  would  remain  undone. 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  211 

TRealitiee  tn  TRcfincO  S'orm 


Such  being  their  precise  work,  it  is  obvious  that  there  is 
no  inconsistency  between  direct  cognition  and  the  use  of 
bodily  organs  of  perception.  These  are  only  instruments, 
which  the  Soul  makes  use  of  in  direct  cognition.  They 
are  themselves  material,  and  their  affections,  activity, 
work  are  of  the  same  nature  altogether.  Material  in 
themselves,  they  present,  in  refined,  delicate  form,  that 
which  is  material  before  the  Soul  for  it  to  take  immediate 
knowledge  of.  In  this  they  do  for  the  cognitive  attribute 
that,  which  the  nerves  of  volition  do  for  the  Will.  These 
present  it  with  nerve  force  so  refined  and  delicate  that  it 
is  under  the  immediate  power  of  the  Will,  promptly  re- 
sponding to  its  mere  and  every  mandate.  The  Will  gov- 
erns this  refined,  material  nerve  force  immediately,  as  the 
cognitive  power  cognizes  immediately  the  material  real- 
ities presented  to  it,  in  refined  fashion,  by  the  organs  of 
perception. 

Look  at  the  lens  of  the  eye,  so  delicate  that  a  touch 
may  destroy  it ;  look  at  the  far  more  refined  microscopic 
nerve  structure  of  the  retina,  almost  ethereal  in  its  deli- 
cacy ;  look  at  the  drum  membrane  and  fine  mechanism 
of  the  ear,  with  the  attenuated  nerve  filament  connected 
with  it ;  look  at  the  finest  kind  of  nerves  overspreading 
the  finger  tips,  requiring  high  microscopical  power  to  be 
discerned,  and  we  will  have  some  slight  conception  of 
the  ethereal  refinement,  the  almost  ''  spiritMeV  delicacy, 
which  is  at  the  mysterious  point  of  contact  of  the  Soul 
with  "  matter,"  where  by  its  miraculous  power  it  over- 
steps the  impassable  gulf  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
material  and  directly  cognizes  objective  realities ;  for 
these  structures,  and,  or  rather  that  which  falls  and  rests 
upon  them  with  gentlest  touch,  which  harms  them  not, 
are  the  things  which  the  Soul  takes  immediate  knowledge 
of  in  external  perception,  and  from  the  knowledge  of 
which  it  goes  forth    to  an  enlarged    knowledge  of   the 


212  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Xocomotive,  Butomoblle  power 


world,  of  which  all  these  things  are  a  veritable,  an  actual 
part. 

The  delicate  organs  are  themselves  perceived,  but  it  is 
as  the  astronomer  sees  his  telescope,  while  his  vision  is 
of  the  stars. 

The  reasons  have  thus  been  presented,  why  the  bodily- 
organs  are  necessary.  By  "necessary,"  however,  is 
meant,  not  that  external  perception  is  impossible  in  any 
other  way,  but  that  the  Soul,  being,  at  present,  what  it 
is  in  itself,  its  endowments  and  its  relation  to  the  world, 
these  organs,  such  as  they  are,  or  something  suitable  in 
their  stead,  are  needed,  that  the  Soul  may  cognize 
objective  realities. 

Here  again  reference  may  be  made  to  the  locomotive, 
or  automobile  power.  This  new  word  is  very  appro- 
priate and  yet  it  cannot  altogether  displace  the  old  one; 
as  the  latter  brings  out  distinctly,  that  which  is  of  the 
highest  importance,  the  translation  of  our  entire  person 
to  most  distant  places.  The  word  "automobile"  is 
especially  suited  for  our  control  and  direction  of  the 
organs  of  perception;  the  movements  of  the  eyes,  nos- 
trils, lips,  tongue,  head,  hands,  feet,  the  handling  of 
objects  by  the  play  of  the  finger-tips  over  and  upon 
them,  apprehending  their  minutest  characteristics.  With- 
out this  locomotive,  automobile  power  our  knowledge 
of  the  world  would  be  of  the  most  limited  character. 
Fixed  to  one  spot  like  an  oyster,  we  could  not  place  our 
hands  upon  and  learn  of  any  thing  beyond  arm-reach ; 
arms  and  hands  would  be  without  motion;  we  could  see 
nothing  beyond  our  immediate  front  outlook,  which 
might  be  very  circumscribed  indeed;  we  could  hear  only 
the  sounds  of  our  own  vicinity;  we  would  be  isolated 
from  one  another,  knowing  and  communicating  only 
with  those  in  close  contact  with  us,  unable  to  impart 
instruction  to  one  another,  except  in  the  most  unsatis- 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  213 

©rgans,  TKHbg  not  CognlieO? 


factory  way,  and  ignorant  of  the  scenery,  phenomena  and 
peoples  of  far  off  lands.  By  the  locomotive,  automobile 
power  we  direct  our  vision  to  near  and  far  ofif  objects, 
and  to  any  point  of  the  compass ;  we  enlarge  our  visual 
knowledge  of  distant  things  by  going  to  them,  with  the 
laying  on  of  hands  and  fingers ;  we  learn  from  men  of 
every  character  and  from  all  climes,  and  we  and  they 
roam  over  all  lands  and  seas,  discovering  their  varied 
scenery  and  phenomena,  and  those  peculiar  to  their  over- 
arching heavens.  It  thus  appears  that  the  organs, 
furnishing  our  locomotive,  automobile  power,  are  as 
necessary  as  are  the  others,  for  our  perception  of  the 
world;  always  remembering  that  we  directly  cognize 
only  that,  which  is  present  to  us. 

To  this  view  of  External  Perception  it  might  perhaps, 
be  objected  that  if  the  Soul  has  power  to  directly  cognize 
objective  realities,  which  are  present,  we  ought  to  be 
able  to  cognize  our  organs  of  perception  themselves, 
when  they  are  not  presenting  anything  to  us,  as  when 
our  eyes  are  shut,  and  no  sound  falls  upon  the  ears;  and 
we  ought  to  be  as  well  acquainted  with  our  interior 
bodily  selves,  as  we  are  with  our  outward  persons; 
whereas  we  are  familiar  with  the  latter,  but  perceive  not 
the  former,  and  we  have  no  cognizance  of  the  organs  of 
perception,  when  they  are  not  in  active  operation,  pre- 
senting to  us  sights,  sounds,  etc. 

The  Objection,  however  serious  if  unanswered,  is  re- 
moved as  follows : 

In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  already  more  than  once 
pointed  out,  the  organs  of  perception  have  been  con- 
structed each  for  its  peculiar  work  alone ;  they  are  un- 
fitted for  any  other.  The  eye  is  for  light  and  color,  not 
for  sound,  the  ear  for  sound  not  for  color,  even  as  the 
optical  instruments  are  for  seeing,  not  for  hearing ;  che 
bell  is  for  emitting  sound,  it  can  give  no  light.     Hence 


214  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sk. 

"Me  Qognlsc  (Qualities 


it  is  that  where  no  light  falls  upon  the  eye,  it  presents 
nothing  for  us  to  cognize.  It  is  itself  wrapt  in  darkness, 
and,  fit  only  for  light,  it  can  reveal  itself  in  no  other  way, 
and  must  remain  unknown,  as  the  fire-flies,  at  a  distance 
in  the  dark  night,  revealing  themselves  by  their  flashes 
of  light,  are  without  them  unperceived  and  f  heir  presence 
unknown.  So  also  in  regard  to  the  other  organs.  When 
no  sound  is  received  by  the  ear,  it  is  silent  with  no  power 
of  self-revelation,  as  it  reveals  itself  by  sound  alone,  even 
as  does  the  speaker  at  the  far  distant  end  of  the  tele- 
phone line;  when  his  voice  ceases  he  vanishes  away. 
When  no  object  even  with  slightest  pressure  and  motion 
rests  upon  the  organs  of  touch,  they  also  must  remain 
unnoticed,  as  they  likewise  are  restricted  within  their 
own  sphere  of  activity,  like  the  embossed  letters,  which 
reveal  themselves  only  by  pressure  and  motion  to  the 
blind,  and  like  the  fish  in  the  deep  sea,  which  manifests 
its  presence  only  by  the  pull  and  strain  upon  the  line, 
which  holds  it  captive. 

In  the  second  place,  we  cognize  the  qualities  of  objects, 
and  not  the  objects  apart  from  their  qualities.  Hence  it 
is,  that  when  the  organs  of  perception  do  not  present 
respectively  the  qualities  for  which  they  are  each  fitted, 
they  present  none  by  which  they  can  be  perceived.  Thus 
when  the  eyes  are  shut,  they  have  no  light,  no  color,  no 
sound,  no  perfume,  no  flavor.  There  remain  only  the 
qualities  of  figure,  size,  solidity  in  one,  or  more  of  its 
degrees  of  vapor,  fluid,  softness,  hardness  with  smooth- 
ness, or  roughness,  but  these  cannot  be  apprehended 
apart  from  our  automobile  power ;  the  organs  of  touch 
must  press,  move  over  and  play  upon  them,  or,  in  other 
words,  we  must  in  some  way  ''handle"  them;  but  this 
cannot  be,  as  they  are  motionless,  without  pressure  in 
themselves  and  are  inaccessible ;  we  cannot  reach  them 
by  sight  and  touch.     The  anatomist  has  revealed  them. 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  215 

©rgans  not  Suftablg  Presented 


by  bringing  them  forth  from  their  hidden  locations  and 
examining  them,  as  he  does  ordinary  things. 

The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  ear,  when  it  is  not  re- 
sonant with  the  sound,  which  it  receives  and  presents,  it 
has  no  quaHties  by  which  it  can  be  discerned.  Inacces- 
sible to  observation  from  without,  the  qualities  which  it 
has,  such  as  size,  shape,  solidity  cannot  be  perceived 
because,  as  in  regard  to  the  eye,  it  has  no  automobile 
power  in  itself,  it  is  motionless  and  without  pressure, 
and  is  also  beyond  our  reach.  The  Soul  is  present  to  it, 
but  there  are  no  qualities  which  it  can  cognize.  So  also 
the  organs,  or  nerves  of  apprehension  by  touch,  when  no 
object  is  resting  and  moving  upon  them,  are  destitute  of 
qualities  capable  of  perception. 

Moreover,  in  the  third  place,  as  we  have  seen,  the 
Soul,  endowed  as  it  is  with  cognizing  power,  perceives 
only  those  objects  which  are  suitably  presented  to  it. 
For  example  in  vision,  the  rays  of  light  must  be  brought 
to  a  focus  upon  the  retina ;  the  lens  of  the  eye  is  as 
necessary  for  sight  as  the  lens  of  the  Camera  is  for  its 
pictorial  representations  ;  and  in  "  touch,"  by  automobile 
power  the  objects,  to  be  apprehended,  must  be  skilfully 
and  intelligently  handled ;  while  in  hearing,  sounds  must 
be  received  and  presented  by  the  curious  mechanism  of 
the  ear.  Hence  again  as  our  organs  of  perception, 
hidden  away  within  the  body,  are  not  thus  presented, 
the  Soul  fails  to  cognize  them,  even  as  the  scientist  fails 
to  see  the  microscopic  world,  when  it  is  not  presented 
to  him  by  the  microscope. 

What  has  thus  been  said  will  be  better  appreciated  as 
we  bear  in  mind,  that  we  do  in  some  measure  cognize 
our  interior  bodily  selves  and  organs  whenever  these  are 
suitably  presented.  Thus,  at  times,  we  notice  the  beat- 
ing of  the  heart ;  we  have  some  perception  of  nostrils, 
mouth,  throat  and  lungs,  as  we  expand  and  contract  our 


2i6  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sbc. 

XTbelr  Zxne  Cbaracter 


chest,  taking  in  and  exhaling  long  draughts  of  breath ; 
we  take  some  indefinite  knowledge  of  the  stomach,  and 
of  the  organs  of  the  abdomen  from  motion  and  pressure 
therein ;  the  mouth  and  upper  throat  are  more  plainly 
revealed  because  of  the  active  and  thorough  movement 
of  lips  and  tongue,  the  latter  moving  freely  over  and  ap- 
prehending everything  within  reach,  and,  by  the  use  of 
mirrors,  we  can  see  within,  and  can  learn  also  from  look- 
ing within  the  mouths  of  others. 

In  thus  considering  the  organs  of  perception,  ikeir 
true  character  comes  distinctly  and  unmistakably  forward. 
It  has  been  made  manifestly  to  appear,  i.  That  there  is 
no  inconsistency  between  direct  cognition  and  perception 
by  the  use  of  bodily  organs.  These  and  that  which  they 
present  are  objective  realities  and  we  take  direct  cog- 
nizance of  them ;  there  is  nothing  intermediate  between 
the  Soul  and  the  external  realities  which  it  cognizes.  2. 
It  has  been  made  obvious  that  the  organs  do  not  create 
anything,  and  do  not  transmit  created  impressions  to  the 
brain,  there  to  be  cognized;  impressions,  which  created 
by  them  under  excitation,  have  no  existence  apart  from 
the  activity  of  the  organ  and  cease  to  be  with  the  cessa- 
tion of  the  creating  activity.  That  which  the  organs 
present  and  which  we  directly  cognize  are  independent, 
abiding,  objective  realities.  They  are  what  we  know 
them  to  be,  whether  we  perceive  them  or  not.  3.  The 
organs  are  altogether  different  from  those  of  "  sense- 
perception."  What  the  operation  of  the  former  is,  the 
operation  of  the  latter  is  not,  and  what  this  is,  the  other 
is  not.  According  to  "sense-perception,"  the  senses  are 
supposed  to  receive  impressions  or  excitations  from  with- 
out, and  being  thus  stimulated,  create,  while  thus  acted 
upon,  a  sensation  upon  the  sensorium  of  the  brain,  which 
is  an  affection  or  feeling  of  our  vital  organism,  and  which 
the  Soul  feels  or  cognizes,  thus  taking  knowledge,  not 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  217 

•ffn  Contrast  witb  tbc  "Senses " 


of  the  objective  realities  themselves,  but  of  something 
intermediate  between  them  and  itself,  and  which  has  no 
likeness  to  the  external  realities,  which  are  only  their 
unknown  cause. 

As  we  have  presented  them,  the  organs  of  perception 
do  nothing  of  this  kind.  They  simply  present  real  ob- 
jects in  their  very  similitude  before  the  Soul  for  it  to 
look  upon,  as  we  hold  up  an  object  before  a  mirror  for 
it  to  receive  and  retain,  as  long  as  the  object  is  present 
before  it.  The  mirror  may  represent  our  conscious  Soul, 
and  that  which  the  mirror  receives  and  holds  within  itself 
may  represent  our  knowledge  of  that,  which  we  appre- 
hend by  perception.  The  reflection  within  the  mirror  is 
of  the  object,  as  it  is  in  itself ;  the  knowledge  within  the 
Soul  is  that  of  the  perceived  external  reality,  as  it  actu- 
ally is  in  itself. 

By  thus  holding  up  the  "senses"  of  sense-perception 
in  contrast  with  the  organs  of  perception,  as  we  have 
presented  them,  we  have  a  better  understanding  of  the 
latter,  and  see  more  clearly  the  truth  of  our  presentation. 

In  the  4th  place,  it  has  been  made  plain  that  the  body, 
with  all  its  members,  organs,  qualities,  affections,  activity 
and  work  is  an  external,  material  reality,  thoroughly  and 
altogether  such,  and  it  and  that  which  comes  in  contact 
with  it  are  the  things  which  we  directly  cognize,  and 
these  alone. 

In  order  that  we  may  directly  cognize  distant  things, 
they  must  come  to  us,  or  we  must  go  to  them.  Illumi- 
nated and  colored  objects  in  their  true  figure,  motion, 
color,  varied  characteristics  and  their  relations  to  one 
another  come  to  us  by  the  rays  of  light,  which  enter  the 
eyes ;  far  off  sounds  reach  us  and  reverberate  within  the 
ear ;  flavors  and  perfumes  are  borne  to  the  organs  upon 
which  they  fall,  and  by  our  locomotive,  automobile 
power  we  go  directly  to  the  things,  which  do  not  come 


2i8  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  s.c. 

©mniprcsence  ot  tbe  Soul 


to  us.  In  this  way,  and  only  thus,  can  we  directly  cog- 
nize them.  This  perception  of  distant  things  will,  how- 
ever, be  presented  again  more  at  length.  The  truth 
here  to  be  noted  is,  that  we  directly  cognize  only  our 
body,  and  that  which  comes  in  actual  contact  with  its 
organs  of  perception,  and  is  in  itself  present  to  the 
indwelling  Soul. 

In  the  5th  place,  it  has  been  made  apparent,  that  for 
external  perception  the  omnipresence  of  the  Soul 
throughout  the  body  is  essential.  Were  the  Soul  con- 
fined within  some  interior  cell  of  the  brain,  it  would  be 
able  to  take  direct  knowledge  only  of  that  single  cell, 
and  that  which  is  in  contact  with  it.  It  would  be  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  all  beyond.  The  whole  world  and 
all  that  it  contains  would  be  unknown,  for  nothing  of 
that  world  reaches  the  secluded  cell,  the  confined  dwell- 
ing place  of  the  Soul.  No  light,  no  color,  no  sound, 
no  perfume,  no  flavor  and  no  pressure,  no  motion, 
revealing  the  things  which  are,  and  none  of  these  things 
themselves  ever  penetrate  thereto.  The  Soul  must  be 
present  to  the  things,  which  it  directly  cognizes.  It 
must  be  within  the  eye  to  behold  what  is  there;  within 
the  ear  to  hear  what  is  therein;  it  must  be  within  the 
organs,  where  perfume  and  flavor  are,  to  take  knowledge 
of  them,  and  at  the  very  finger-tips,  with  its  active  intel- 
ligence, penetrating  into  and  understanding  the  things 
towards  which  it  reaches,  and  upon  which  it  lays  its 
hands. 

These  things  being  where  they  are,  the  Soul  by  its 
omnipresence  must  come  forth  to  them,  in  the  fullness  of 
its  own  indivisible  Self.  Thus  coming  forth,  and  being 
present  to  them,  it  directly  cognizes  them  in  their  refined 
delicacy,  as  held  up  before  it  by  the  bodily  organs,  them- 
selves structures  of  extreme  rarity,  made  thus  for  this 
purpose. 


II  ORGANS  OF  PERCEPTION  219 

IfnfaUlbilitig  ot  ipcrceptlon 


In  the  6th  place,  the  Infallibility  of  Perception  and  the 
foundation  of  it  have  been  plainly  stated.  It  is  infallible, 
because,  we  directly  cognize  the  things  themselves  held 
up  before  us.  Our  knowledge  is  the  knowledge  of  the 
things;  the  two  are  synonymous,  "the  things"  are  our 
"knowledge,"  our  "knowledge"  is  "the  things,"  and 
hence  must  be  correct.  Just  as  there  is  perfect  reliability 
of  the  mirrored  reflection,  and  of  the  photograph,  be- 
cause they  are  the  reflection  and  the  photograph  of  the 
objects  held  up  before  the  mirror  and  the  camera. 
Astronomers  have  such  confidence  in  photographs  of 
the  heavens,  that  they  examine  them  at  leisure,  as 
though  they  were  the  very  stars  themselves. 

For  such  perfect  reliabitity,  however,  there  must  be  a 
true  mirror  and  a  normal  camera,  otherwise  there  will 
be  distortion  and  error ;  so  for  the  Infallibility  of  Per- 
ception, there  must  be  a  true  human  Soul  and  a  normal 
human  body,  otherwise  there  will  be  confusion  and  false- 
hood. The  fundamental  principle  is  '^ Mens  sana  in  cor- 
pore  sa7ioy 

The  alleged  deceptions  of  our  perceptions  are  due  to 
the  violation  of  this  principle,  to  carelessness  and  inat- 
tention of  the  observation,  and  to  wrong  interpretation 
of  the  perceptions,  themselves  infallible.  The  consider- 
ation of  these  alleged  deceptions  will  be  presented  under 
the  head  of  visual  perception. 

The  Act  of  Perceiving  may  be  stated  thus. 

The  Act  of  Perceiving 

The  omnipresent  Soul,  endowed  with  the  miraculous 
power  of  stepping  over  the  impassable  gulf  between  the 
spiritual  and  the  material  by  direct  cognition  of  the 
latter,  takes  immediate  and  infallible  knowledge  of 
material  things  which,  in  actual  contact  with  the  deli- 
cate organs  of  perception,  are  by  them  held  up  before  it, 


220  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Zbc  Soul  :BebolD6  tbe  IRcalit^ 


refined  and  delicate,  suitable  for  its  apprehension;  and 
takes  the  same  knowledge  of  distant  things  as  these 
come  into  contact  with  the  organs  of  perception,  or  as 
these  organs  approach  and  touch  them.  The  act  is 
purely  spiritual,  it  is  the  Soul  which  beholds  the  reality. 
The  truth  and  correctness  of  this  statement,  and  of 
all,  thus  far  presented,  may  be  illustrated  and  enforced, 
and  diflEiculties  removed  by  the  examination  of  the  indi- 
vidual organs  separately.  Of  these  the  Eye,  the  organ 
of  sight,  affords  the  greatest  advantage  for  such  exami- 
nation. If  we  gain  a  true  conception  of  this,  and  remove 
the  difficulties  connected  with  it,  there  will  be  no  ques- 
tion as  to  the  true  character  of  the  other  organs.  The 
doctrine  of  Perception,  which  we  have  been  presenting, 
will  be  established  in  its  self-evident  truth  and  beauty. 

Section  III     The  Eye,  the  Organ  of  Sight 

The  Eye  is  so  well  known,  that  it  would  be  superfluous 
to  give  a  minute  description  and  illustration  of  it.  We 
have  already  spoken  of  its  marvellously  delicate  construc- 
tion, surpassing  anything  that  human  hands  and  skill 
can  form. 

The  Retina  is  a  microscopic  mosaic  work,  formed  of 
many  thousands  of  minutest  parts,  each  part  a  nerve  of 
thread-like  fineness  and  atomic  length,  compacted  to- 
gether side  by  side  into  a  nervous  expanse  of  small 
diameter,  and  connected  with  the  brain  by  the  optic 
nerve,  the  source  of  its  life  and  sustenance.  Between  the 
brain  and  the  retina,  along  this  nerve,  there  is  the  flow 
of  nerve-force,  as  there  is  the  circulation  of  blood 
throughout  the  blood  vessels.  At  times,  when  the  eye 
is  at  rest  from  vision,  this  may  be  at  its  lowest  ebb, 
almost  imperceptible,  like  the  flow  of  the  sap  of  the 
trees  in  winter,  or  like  the  flow  of  blood  to  muscles, 
when  they  are  in    perfect   quietude.     When  stimulated, 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  221 

^be  IRetina  a  Delicate  /Bbosalc 


however,  by  the  activity  of  the  eye  in  vision,  the  nervous 
energy,  or  excitement  may  be  greatly  aroused  and  inten- 
sified, and,  perhaps,  the  scientist  may  actually,  in  some 
way,  measure  the  time  of  passage  for  this  along  the 
optic  nerve  from  eye  to  brain,  even  as  the  flow  of  blood 
to  muscles  and  to  brain  is  vastly  augmented,  when  these 
are  in  active  exercise.  And  on  this  account,  from  long 
continued  effort  and  overwork,  the  vision  may  grow  dull 
from  exhaustion  of  the  nervous  energy,  even  as  we  know 
so  well  in  our  own  experience,  when  our  eyes  are  too 
tired  for  us  to  see,  and  need  rest  and  recuperation,  just 
as  the  tired  out  brain  and  muscles  do. 

But  all  this  is  purely  physical.  There  is  in  it  no  vision, 
and  no  possibility  of  vision.  The  wonderfully  constructed 
eye  is  a  material  thing,  and  the  excited  nerve-energy  is 
a  material  force,  and  only  such.  This  must  be  distinctly 
understood  and  acknowledged,  or  we  go  entirely  astray. 
It  is  a  grave  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  optic  nerve 
carries  something  not  altogether  material  from  the  eye  to 
the  brain,  the  assumed  seat  of  Vision.  In  regard  to  the 
structure  of  the  eye,  that  which  especially  concerns  us  is 
the  fact  just  mentioned,  its  thoroughly  physical  character, 
in  itself  and  in  its  activities  or  affections,  and  secondly, 
the  Retina  and  the  Lens.  These  two  stand  related  to 
one  another,  as  the  lens  of  the  camera  to  the  sensitive 
plate  or  glass  within  it.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  that  the 
Camera  has  been  modeled  after  the  eye  and  is  a  wonder- 
ful copy  of  it.  It  serves  as  a  most  excellent  illustration 
of  the  eye,  and  enables  us  to  understand  its  operation 
and  how  we  see  by  its  instrumentality.  So  close  is  the 
correspondence  that  the  Camera  may  be  regarded  as  af- 
fording an  actual,  visible  demonstration  of  "perception 
by  sight." 

The  hollow  sphere  of  the  eye  corresponds  with  the 
box  of  the  camera,  the  fact   that  it  is  angular  is  of  no 


222  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

V^be  Camera  a  Demonstration 


consequence,  it  serves  the  same  purpose  as  though  it 
were  spherical.  Both  of  these  have  a  dark  interior,  the 
box  of  the  camera  is  Hned  with  black  and  every  trace  of 
light  excluded.  At  the  front  of  the  eye  there  is  a  lens 
with  power  of  change  and  adjustment  of  focus,  adapting 
it  to  near  and  distant  objects ;  by  automatic  action,  the 
pupil  enlarges  and  contracts  according  to  the  less  or 
greater  intensity  of  light,  and  by  the  eyelid,  with  instan- 
taneous quickness,  the  light  is  permitted  to  enter  or  cut 
off  at  pleasure. 

In  a  most  carefully  exact  manner  all  this  has  been  im- 
itated and  reproduced  in  the  camera.  It  has  at  the  front 
a  lens  which,  though  in  itself  an  unchanging  piece  of 
glass,  has  its  focus  changed  and  adjusted  for  near  and 
distant  objects  by  especial  construction  of  the  camera 
dark  box  ;  arrangement  is  made  by  a  peculiarly  contrived 
shutter  for  the  greater  or  less  intensity  of  light,  as  is 
done  by  the  contracting  and  enlarging  pupil  of  the  eye, 
and  by  automatic  action  of  delicate  mechanism  the 
shutter,  with  eye-lid-like  instantaneous  quickness,  gives 
exposure  to  the  light  of  such  length  of  time  as  is  desired 
from  a  fraction  of  a  second  to  some  minutes  in  duration ; 
still  further  the  lens  is  made  achromatic,  as  is  also  that 
of  the  eye. 

Moreover,  by  automobile,  locomotive  power — the  eye 
is  elevated,  or  depressed,  turned  to  all  points  of  the  com- 
pass, and  is  placed  nearer,  or  further  from  different  ob- 
jects for  the  proper  point  of  view,  and  carried  to  far  off 
places.  So  the  camera  is  directed  at  pleasure,  and  is  put 
in  position  for  right  point  of  view,  and  nearer  and  further 
from  the  objects,  and  is  carried  everywhere. 

Again,  at  the  rear  part  of  the  eye  opposite  the  lens, 
there  is  the  retina,  a  most  delicate  expanse  of  nerve 
mosaic,  so  also  in  the  same  position,  within  the  dark  in- 
terior of  the  camera,   there  is  the    "  sensitive  plate,"  or 


m  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  223 

®f  iPcrceptfon  bs  Sigbt 


piece  of  plain  glass.  These  and  the  retina  serve  the 
same  purpose,  they  receive  the  picture  thrown  upon  them 
through  the  lenses. 

Such  being  the  structure  of  both  eye  and  camera,  their 
active  operation  is  the  same.  They  have  both  been  made 
for  and  adapted  to  light  and  its  color.  The  camera  being 
properly  adjusted,  the  light  radiating  from  every  point  of 
the  object  before  it,  however  simple  or  complicated  it 
may  be,  enters  the  interior  of  the  camera  through  the 
lens,  and  is  by  its  peculiar  power  brought  to  a  focus  at 
and  upon  the  sensitive  plate,  or  glass  and  thrown  upon 
it  with  the  exact  figure,  proportions,  coloring,  move- 
ments, characteristics  down  to  minutest  detail,  which  are 
in  the  object  from  which  the  light  proceeds,  a  true  repro- 
duction of  the  external  picture,  or  phenomenon,  as  true 
as  is  the  reproduction,  or  reflection  of  the  face  in  the 
mirror. 

This  is  the  precise  statement  of  that  which  takes  place 
also  with  the  eye.  To  know  and  understand  the  one  is 
to  know  and  understand  the  other.  As  with  the  camera, 
the  eye  being  properly  adjusted,  the  radiating  light  from 
the  object  before  it,  however  simple,  or  complicated  it 
may  be,  enters  the  dark  interior  of  the  eye  through  the 
lens,  and  is  by  its  peculiar  power  brought  to  a  focus  at 
and  upon  the  retina,  and  thrown  upon  it  with  the  exact 
figure,  proportions,  coloring,  movements,  characteristics, 
down  to  the  minutest  detail,  which  are  in  the  object 
from  which  the  light  proceeds,  a  true  reproduction  of 
the  external  picture,  or  phenomenon,  as  true  as  the  re- 
flection in  a  mirror,  as  true  as  the  reproduction  of  the 
external  object  on  the  sensitive  plate,  or  glass  of  the 
camera. 

Such  is  the  operation  of  both  the  camera  and  the  eye, 
but  thus  far  there  is  no  "sight''  in  either  the  one,  or  the 
other.     The    camera   and    the    eye   are    both    alike    and 


224  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  skc. 

a  ^Living,  Spiritual  {presence 


equally  mere  material  things,  and  the  entering  focused 
light,  and  produced  phenomena  on  sensitive  plate,  or 
glass  and  retina  are  no  less  purely  material  also.  Should 
the  correspondence  between  the  camera  and  eye  end 
here,  we  would  have  no  presentation  and  illustration  of 
''seeing.''  In  fact  the  correspondence  does  cease  here, 
if  we  consider  the  camera  as  it  is  in  itself  alone  and  the 
photographic  purpose  for  which  it  was  made.  The  eye 
does  also  indeed  photograph,  but  only  to  a  very  limited 
degree.  There  is  a  retention  of  the  picture  on  the 
retina  for  a  brief  moment;  this  is  called  retention,  or 
persistence  of  vision,  but  the  picture  on  the  sensitive 
plate  of  the  camera  remains  as  long  as  kept  in  the  dark, 
and  permanently  in  the  light  when  developed. 

We  may,  however,  lay  aside  the  camera  as  a  photo- 
graphic instrument  and  use  it  as  an  instrument  of  sight, 
and  the  correspondence  between  it  and  the  eye  emerges 
again.  The  sensitive  plate  may  be  removed,  and  the 
glass  of  which  we  have  spoken  be  in  position  with  the 
livi^ig  photographer,  the  cloth  enveloping  his  head  and 
camera  uniting  them  as  one,  looking,  not  through,  but 
at  the  glass  and  upon  the  picture  thrown  upon  it.  Here 
there  is  the  introduction  of  a  new  element,  a  living 
spiritual  presence,  beholding  that  which  is. 

To  this  the  eye  presents  a  striking  resemblance.  The 
eye  also  has  this  additional  element,  a  living  spiritual 
presetice  united  with  it.  The  Soul,  with  its  miraculous 
cognizing  power,  is  present  to  the  retina,  as  the  pho- 
tographer is  at  the  glass  of  the  camera,  and  looks,  not 
through,  but  at  the  retina  and  upon  the  picture  thrown 
upon  it,  beholding  that  which  is,  even  as  the  photographer 
does,  as  he  looks  upon  the  picture  on  the  glass  of  the 
camera. 

Thus  it  is  that  the  camera  gives  an  actual,  visible 
demonstration  of  Perception  by  Sight. 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  225 

Zlt  botb  JBv.e  anD  Camera 


It  would  seem,  as  though  nothing  could  possibly  be 
more  plain  than  this.  The  deep  mystery  of  the  Soul's 
cognition,  rightly  called  miraculous,  remains  as  deep  as 
ever,  but  accepting  it  as  a  known  fact,  the  explanation 
given  of  "perception  by  sight"  is  clear,  intelligible, 
easily  apprehended,  unobjectionable,  and  commends  itself 
as  altogether  worthy  of  acceptation.  It  is  immeasurably 
superior  to  any  other  that  can  be  given,  and  has  the 
most  positive  support  of  the  testimony  of  Consciousness 
and  of  the  assurance  of  all  men  that  light  and  color  with 
its  expanse,  its  figure,  motions  and  varied  characteristics 
are  directly  cognized  as  external  realities.  The  explana- 
tion in  its  simplicity  and  rare  beauty  is  self-evidently 
true. 

From  this  demonstration  it  is  evident  that  the  eye  is 
only  a  material  instrument,  as  much  as  and  in  the  same 
sense  as  is  the  camera ;  that  the  omnipresence  of  the 
Soul  is  essential,  it  must  be  at  the  eye,  that  there  may 
be  "  sight  "  thereby,  as  truly  as  the  photographer  must 
be  at  the  camera  that  there  may  be  "sight"  by  it;  it  is 
evident  that  the  thing  which  the  Soul  directly  sees  is  not 
that  which  is  and  remains  at  a  distance,  but  that  which 
by  the  entering  light,  coming  from  the  distant  object, 
enters  into  the  eye  and  by  the  lens  is  thrown  upon  the 
retina,  the  very  same  picture  or  phenomenon  as  that  from 
which  at  a  distance  the  light  proceeds,  as  truly  as  that, 
which  the  photographer  sees,  is  the  picture  which  the 
light,  entering  through  the  lens  from  a  distant  object, 
throws  upon  the  glass  of  the  camera  at  which  he  looks. 

It  is  also  evident  that  in  both  cases  "  sight "  is  a  purely 
spiritual  act.  It  is  the  liviftg  Soul  that  sees — it  is  the 
living  one  at  the  camera  that  sees.  It  is  further  evident 
that  in  both  camera  and  eye  the  external  object  is  pre- 
sented in  most  refined,  delicate  form  for  the  seeing  one, 
and  that  color,  expanse,  figure  and  motion  are  placed 
15 


226  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Z\oo  (Sluestions 


upon  glass  and  retina  alike.  Those,  who  have  looked  for 
the  first  time  upon  the  glass  within  the  camera,  have 
been  surprised  and  fascinated  by  the  minute  delicacy  of 
the  picture  thereon  of  the  wide-spreading  landscape, 
with  its  mountains  and  high  massive  clouds,  a  marvellous 
miniature  indeed,  a  fairy  picture.  But  this  is  gross  and 
coarse  compared  with  the  extreme  delicacy  of  the  picture 
on  the  retina  of  eye. 

Two  Questions,  involving  more  or  less  of  difficulty  and 
objection,  here  arise.  If  in  visual  perception  that  which 
we  see  is  only  the  minute  picture,  microscopic  in  its  de- 
tails, upon  the  retina  within  the  dark  interior  of  the  eye, 
how  can  we  be  said  to  directly  cognize  the  things  of  the 
external  world,  and  not  merely  a  minute  picture  or  repre- 
sentation of  them,  as  would  seem  to  be  the  case,  if  this 
statement  as  to  perception  be  true  ?  Secondly,  How  is 
it  that,  seeing  only  the  minute  picture  on  the  retina 
within  the  eye,  we  seem  to  look  off,  and  firmly  believe 
that  we  do  look  off  to  the  far  beyond,  beholding  all 
things  in  their  true  size,  the  world  in  its  grand  propor- 
tions, the  boundless  plains  and  oceans,  limitless  forests, 
long  lines  of  mountain  ranges,  the  cloud-piercing  moun- 
tain peaks,  the  heavens  on  high  and  suns  and  stars  in 
the  depths  of  space? 

In  answering  these  questions  we  answer  also  the 
further  one  of  how  we  see  distant  objects,  which  is  the 
same  question  in  other  words. 

The  First  of  the  above  Questions. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  there  is  an  impassable 
gulf  of  separation  between  the  spiritual  and  the  material, 
and  that  the  eye  and  all  within  it  belong  to  the  latter. 
The  retina  with  the  expanded,  figured  color  upon  it  is 
material.  We  do  not  have  to  go  beyond  the  eye,  and 
the  body  to  obtain  objective  reality.     Hence  it  is,  that 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  227 

Distant  ©bjccts  Enter  into  tbe  iB^e 


when  we  see  the  pictures  upon  the  retina,  however 
minute  they  may  be,  it  is  literally  true  that  we  are  directly 
cognizing  things  of  the  external  world.  Still  further, 
however,  we  now  have  before  us  that,  which  is  of  deepest 
interest  and  wonder.  When  we  look  upon  that  which  is 
on  the  retina  in  the  dark  interior  of  the  eye,  we  are  not 
looking  upon  a  picture  or  representation  of  distant  ob- 
jects, but  upon  those  objects  ifi  their  own  true  selves. 
They  are  themselves  brought  into  the  eye  and  placed  upon 
the  retina  for  us  to  behold.  They  enter  the  eye,  and  are 
there  seen  just  as  the  distant  sound  travels  through  the 
air,  enters  the  ear  and  is  there  heard  itself,  not  a  repre- 
sentation, or  reproduction  of  it. 

When  we  see  the  world,  we  look  upon  phenomena. 
This  word,  however,  does  not  mean  a  mere  appearance. 
It  is  to  be  taken  in  its  acquired,  and  technical  sense,  as 
it  is  constantly  used.  It  designates  a  matiifested  reality; 
a  substantial  effect  which  is  produced,  an  effect  which 
has  an  abiding  being. 

Thus  we  have  the  phenomena  of  earth's  scenery ;  the 
ice  and  snow  are  the  phenomena  of  Winter;  the  buds, 
opening  leaves,  blossoms  are  those  of  Spring;  flowers, 
trees  in  full  leaf,  fruits,  harvests  those  of  Summer;  varie- 
gated foliage  and  falling  leaves  those  of  autumn.  The 
dark  black  clouds,  hurrying  onward,  the  howling  winds, 
the  vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  the  crash  and  rolling  of 
the  thunder  are  the  phenomena  of  the  thunder-storm; 
the  desolate  sandy  plain  traversed  by  a  caravan  of  camels 
are  the  phenomena  of  the  desert;  there  are  also  the 
phenomena  of  light  and  the  phenomena  of  the  heavens, 
the  constellations  of  the  stars,  conjunctions  and  eclipses. 
These  are  not  mere  appearances,  they  are  effects  pro- 
duced, they  are  realities.  The  stars  are  so  arranged, 
that  they  have  the  relative  positions  which  form  the  well- 
known  and  real  figures  of  the  constellations,  though  in 


228  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Tide  see  /IRanlfestcO  "Kealities 


a  lineal  direction  away  from  us  they  are  millions  of  miles 
distant  from  one  another.  The  phenomena  of  conjunc- 
tions are  equally  real ;  the  planets  do  touch  and  pass  one 
another,  though  they  are  millions  of  miles  apart  in  the 
other,  lineal  direction ;  just  as  two  trees,  far  apart  in  one 
way,  are  so  near  one  another  that  a  rifle-ball  shot  at  them 
could  not  pass  between  them.  The  phenomena  of  the 
eclipse  are  real,  the  sun  and  the  moon  are  in  such  actual 
positions,  that  the  moon  touches  and  passes  over  the 
face  of  the  sun,  cutting  off  its  light  from  us  ;  it  is  a  real 
effect  which  is  produced,  and  not  something  only  imag- 
inary and  true  only  in  thought ;  it  may  be  photographed, 
which  imagination  and  thought  cannot  be.  It  is  no  more 
true  that  the  sun  and  moon  are  far  apart  in  one  way,  than 
that  they  are  in  contact  in  another.  It  is  just  as  true 
that  the  one  is  in  front  of,  or  behind  the  other  partly,  or 
altogether,  as  that  they  are  millions  of  miles  distant  from 
one  another  in  being  thus  placed. 

It  is  these  manifested  realities,  substantial  effects, 
phenomena  which  we  see,  when  we  look  upon  the  things 
of  the  world. 

But  all  phenomena,  so  far  as  they  are  visible,  are 
phenomena  of  light  and  color.  We  see  nothing  but 
color,  with  its  essential  properties  of  expansion,  figure, 
motion ;  light  and  color  are  one  and  the  same.  This  is 
all  that  enters  the  camera  and  falls  upon  the  sensitive 
plate,  or  glass ;  and  this  is  all  that  enters  the  eye  and 
falls  upon  the  retina,  as  far  as  ''sight'"  is  concerned. 
Let  there  be,  in  plain  view  before  us,  an  officer  in  full 
uniform,  brilliant,  gorgeous,  seated  upon  a  magnificently 
caparisoned  horse,  of  some  conspicuous  color.  When 
the  light  of  the  sun  falls  upon  them,  it  makes  them  all 
that  we  see.  If  that  light  be  withdrawn  they  are  dark, 
black,  invisible.  The  moment  the  light  strikes  them, 
they  are  seen  in  all  their  variegated,  brilliant  coloring, 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  229 

Visible  IRealities  ®nls  Xigbt,  Color 


with  forms,  features  and  complicated  configuration,  in 
minutest  detail,  with  every  movement  of  horse  and  rider, 
which  may  take  place. 

The  object  seen  is  nothing  but  the  color,  and  its  attri- 
butes, which  comes  and  goes  with  the  coming  and  going 
of  the  sunlight.  But  all  is  in  a  state  of  flux.  With  un- 
broken flow  the  light  streams  from  the  sun,  and,  striking 
upon  horse  and  rider,  is  there  broken  up  into  proper 
kinds  and  shades  of  color,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
surfaces  upon  which  it  falls,  and  there  assumes  the  com- 
plicated shapes  and  configurations  of  horse,  rider  and 
their  adornments,  and  moving  with  every  one  of  their 
motions.  But  the  light  which  thus  strikes  upon  these 
objects  and  assumes,  in  so  doing,  the  shape  and  charac- 
teristic coloring  and  motion  due  to  them,  is  as  quickly, 
and  with  unbroken  flow,  radiated  from  them,  retaining 
the  same  shape,  coloring,  motion,  and,  reaching  the  eye, 
enters  into  it  and  places  itself  upon  the  retina,  the  very 
same  external,  objective  reality,  which  that  instant  had 
been  at  a  distance,  touching  horse  and  rider,  and  is  now 
touching  the  retina.  In  cognizing  the  phenomenon  on 
the  retina,  we  cognize,  not  a  picture,  or  representation 
of  it,  but  the  very  phenomenon  itself,  which  being  at  a 
distafice  is  carried  into  the  eye.  And  as  the  flow  or 
radiation  of  light  is  uninterrupted  and  the  velocity  for 
such  short  distances  instantaneous,  there  is  unceasing 
transfer  of  the  distant,  visible  object,  or  phenomenon 
into  the  interior  of  the  eye,  as  long  as  the  light  con- 
tinues and  the  object  is  in  view. 

Thus  it  is  actually  true,  that  we  see  the  distant,  ex- 
ternal reality  its  very  self. 

It  may  be  stated  thus — The  visible  external  reality  is 
light,  with  its  color ;  we  see  these  because  they  enter  into 
the  eye.  The  visible  external  phenomenon  of  the  horse 
and  rider  is  the  effect  produced  by  the  sunlight  falling 


230  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  skc. 

Xlgbt  anD  Color  HUustrateD 


upon  them,  and  this  same  produced  effect,  remaining 
and  unchanged,  passes  by  radiation  to  and  upon  the 
retina. 

It  cannot  be  objected  that,  this  being  so,  we  see  not 
the  horse  and  rider,  but  only  colored  representations,  or 
"casts"  as  it  were,  of  them,  sent  off  from  them;  for  it 
is  well  known  that  we  cannot  cognize  "substance,"  but 
only  its  manifested  qualities.  We  cannot  see  the  sub- 
stance of  horse  and  rider,  but  we  do  see  their  true 
qualities,  their  figure,  proportions,  characteristic  color- 
ing and  movements,  as  they  actually  are. 

Illustrations,  i.  Stars.  To  show  how  true  it  is,  that 
we  see  only  light  and  color,  we  may  refer  to  the  stars. 
These  are  so  far  distant,  that  light  requires  thousands  of 
years  to  pass  from  them  to  us.  When  we  now  see  them, 
it  is  as  they  were  these  thousands  of  years  ago,  when  the 
light  and  color,  which  now  enters  our  eyes,  radiated 
from  them  and  entered  upon  their  long  journey,  and  the 
stars  themselves  may  have  been  destroyed  thousands  of 
years  ago,  and  yet  we  still  see  them,  and  will  continue 
to  see  them  till  the  last  radiant  light  and  color  which  left 
them  has  come  to  us.  The  visible  real  phenomenon  has 
its  continued  being  in  the  real  on-moving  light  and 
color.  Thus  in  seeing  the  stars,  we  see  only  light  and 
color ;  equally  true  is  it  that  in  seeing  other  things,  we 
see  only  light  and  color  also,  light  and  color  having  the 
configuration  and  variegated  characteristics  radiated  from 
and  due  to  them. 

2.  Another  illustration  will  make  this  the  more  evi- 
dent. Let  us  have  three  solid,  spherical  balls  of  ivory, 
silver,  and  wood.  Let  these  all  be  completely  gilded 
with  gold-leaf  of  the  finest  thinness.  They  are  all  vis- 
ible. We  affirm  that  we  see  these  balls.  But  we  do  not 
see  the  ivory,  silver  and  wood.  We  see  only  the  spheres 
of  the  attenuated  gold-leaf,  and  even  of  this  we  do  not 


HI  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  231 

X'e  tbe  Stars  an5  Colored  ©biects 


see  the  substance  of  microscopic  degree  of  thickness; 
we  do  not  look  through  it,  and  see  the  other  surface  of 
it,  but  only  the  outside  form  and  color.  The  solid  ivory, 
silver  and  wood  may  be  annihilated  altogether,  yet  the 
spheres  of  gold-leaf  might  remain  in  unimpaired  in- 
tegrity, and  it  would  be  as  true  as  it  was  before  that  we 
see  the  three  balls.  Or  the  three  balls  might  be  painted 
each  with  a  different  color,  and  whether  the  ivory,  silver 
and  wood  remained,  or  were  destroyed,  leaving  the  coat 
of  paint  uninjured,  the  objects  seen  would  be  the  same. 
The  same  is  true  of  a  house  painted  all  over  its  exterior. 
The  house  might  be  destroyed,  leaving  the  paint  with  its 
configuration  and  coloring  untouched,  and  we  would  see 
the  building  as  truly  as  we  did  at  first.  The  self-evident 
fact  is,  that  the  visible  objects  which  we  see  is  light,  hav- 
ing the  configuration  and  coloring  etc.  due  to  that  sub- 
stance upon  which  it  falls  and  by  which  it  is  radiated. 

Instead  of  covering  the  balls  with  gold-leaf,  or  giving 
them  and  the  house  a  thin  coating  of  paint,  let  the  solid 
ivory,  silver  and  wood  and  the  material  of  which  the 
house  is  built  remain  untouched,  and  let  the  sunlight, 
holding  all  colors  hidden  within  its  own  being,  fall  upon 
these  things,  and  it  will  give  them  a  covering  more 
ethereal  than  the  finest  gold-leaf,  illuminating  them  with 
appropriate,  figured  coloring  and  making  them  visible, 
otherwise  as  black  and  invisible  as  the  darkest  night.  The 
horse  and  rider,  which  we  have  been  contemplating,  are 
visible  only  when  illuminated  with  the  colors,  thrown 
upon  them  by  the  sunlight  and  by  them  radiated  into 
the  eye. 

3.  The  beam  of  light  from  Stars  long  since  destroyed, 
besides  showing  that  we  see  only  light  and  color,  illus- 
trates also  the  fact,  that  the  visible  objective  reality  is 
carried  by  radiation  into  the  eye  and  placed  upon  the 
retina.     It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose   that  this   object    is 


232  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

CrosssSectlon  of  :fficam  of  iLfgbt  HUustrateO 


only  at  the  distant  object,  and  at  the  retina,  as  though  it 
were  reproduced  there.  It  is  at  every  point  along  the 
entire  length  of  the  beam  of  light.  This  is  the  reason 
why  it  reaches  the  retina.  The  visible  figured,  colored 
object  is  ever  placed  anew  upon  it,  by  the  ever  on-mov- 
ing beam  of  light,  the  cross-section  of  which,  from  one 
end  of  it  to  the  other,  is  this  figured,  colored-object  itself; 
and  this  is  the  reason  why  it  may  still  be  placed  upon 
the  retina,  long  after  the  star  has  been  destroyed  and 
while  the  beam  of  light,  having  this  fixed  cross-section, 
continues.  In  the  case  of  the  single  star,  the  figure  may 
be  of  the  utmost  simplicity,  that  of  a  mere  point  because 
of  its  extreme  distance,  but  there  might  be  the  figure  of 
a  binary  star,  or  of  a  constellation,  all  the  stars  of  which 
have  been  destroyed. 

The  figured,  colored  object  is  invisible,  if  the  beam  of 
light  be  viewed  from  one  side,  but  is  seen  if  the  line  of 
sight  be  directed  along  the  axis  of  the  beam  of  light  and 
at  any  point  of  its  entire  length.  Thus  in  looking  at  the 
star  it  is  seen  whether  we  go  further  away  from  or  nearer 
to  it.  The  beam  of  light  takes  its  figured,  colored  cross- 
section  from  the  object  upon  which  it  strikes,  and  from 
which  it  flows,  bearing  the  figured  color  of  the  object, 
that  is,  the  visible  object  itself,  to  the  retina  of  the  eye. 
It  is  only  in  this  way  that  the  continued  visibility  of  stars, 
with  their  peculiar  characteristics,  which  have  been  de- 
stroyed can  be  explained. 

Thus  it  is  that  such  stars  give  not  only  an  illustration, 
but  a  demonstration  of  the  true  character  of  the  only 
visible  thing,  the  beam  of  light  with  its  figured,  colored 
cross-section,  and  of  the  fact  that  the  distant  visible  real- 
ity is  "figured  color,"  and  comes  to  us  in  the  beam  of 
light,  enters  the  eye  and  is  there  directly  seen. 

4.  Of  this  the  Magic  Lantern  gives  another  illustra- 
tion for  nearer  objects  than  the  stars,  and  for  the  con- 


m  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  233 

bs  Stars  anD  IfbaQic  Xantern 


tinual  variation  of  visible  things,  the  beautiful  ever- 
changing  phenomena  of  the  world,  the  moving  panorama 
of  the  varied  scenes  of  Nature,  now  brilliant  and  gorge- 
ous with  variegated  coloring,  and  now  sombre  with  deep- 
ening shadows  and  with  the  darkness  of  tempests  and 
of  night. 

The  beam  of  light  from  the  stars  is  unchanged,  prac- 
tically so,  but  the  beam  of  light  from  the  Lantern  we 
can  manipulate  at  pleasure,  making  its  figured,  colored, 
moving,  characteristics  what  we  will.  The  great  advant- 
age afiforded  by  the  Magic  Lantern  is,  that  we  can  bisect 
its  beam  of  light,  at  any  point  along  its  course,  and  make 
its  cross-section  distinctly  visible,  revealing  its  character; 
while  we  cannot  do  this,  as  readily  and  impressively,  with 
the  beam  of  light  from  ordinary  things.  In  the  Magic 
Lantern,  the  light  is  thrown  forward  through  the  painted 
slide,  and  then  through  the  lens  and  the  open  space  be- 
yond to  the  far  distant  sheet,  upon  which  it  falls,  placing 
thereon  the  painted  picture  on  the  slide,  in  full  view  of 
the  spectators. 

Here,  as  with  the  light  from  the  stars,  we  have  it  dem- 
onstrated that  the  "visible  thing"  is  only  color,  with  its 
properties,  or  characteristics. 

The  room  is  made  as  dark  as  possible,  it  is  a  dark-lan- 
tern which  is  used ;  with  its  shutter  closed,  no  portion 
of  the  sheet  is  seen.  The  shutter  is  opened,  the  picture 
appears.  The  colored  presence  comes  and  goes  with  the 
opening  and  the  closing  of  the  shutter ;  it  is  the  only 
visible  thing;  without  it  all  is  black.  The  light  in  the 
lantern  represents  the  sun,  the  painted  slide  represents 
the  distant  visible  object ;  the  lens,  the  lens  of  the  eye, 
the  picture  on  the  sheet  that  on  the  retina,  while  the  be- 
holding Soul  is  present  in  the  seeing  spectators.  The 
thing  seen  is  not  a  reproduction  on  the  sheet  of  the 
painting  on  the  slide.    The  painting  in  itself  is  black  and 


234  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

©bjcct  Seen  not  a  TReproDuction,  but 


invisible.  It  receives  its  coloring  from  and  is  made  vis- 
ible by  the  light.  The  visible  thing,  on  the  slide,  is  the 
beam  of  light,  which  assumes  the  figure  and  the  disposi- 
tion of  its  own  inherent  colors,  due  to  the  character  of 
the  painting  through  which  it  passes ;  and,  with  this 
figure  and  coloring,  it  goes  forward  and  places  itself  on 
the  sheet,  the  very  same  thing  which  it  was  when  on  the 
slide  from  which  it  has  come.  In  seeing  it,  the  specta- 
tors see  the  visible  colored  object  itself  on  the  glass  slide. 

Thus  it  is  also  that  the  object  on  the  retina,  which  the 
Soul  sees,  is  not  a  reproduction  of  but  the  very  same 
object,  which  is  at  a  distance.  The  one  thing  seen  is  the 
figured  and  colored  light,  which  comes  from  a  distance 
and  rests  upon  the  retina, 

By  actual  experiment,  we  can  show  that  the  beam  of 
light,  from  the  lantern  and  resting  upon  the  sheet,  has 
the  same  figure  and  coloring  throughout  its  length.  It 
has  it  as  it  is  on  the  slide,  and  as  it  is  on  the  sheet. 
But  that  on  the  sheet  is  its  cross-section  at  that  point. 
Take  the  sheet  away,  and  the  beam  of  light  will  pass  be- 
yond, and  at  the  greater  distance  may  be  again  caught 
upon  the  sheet,  with  the  same  figure  and  coloring  at 
that  point  of  its  course.  Again,  if,  as  it  rests  upon  the 
sheet,  the  head,  or  hand  of  some  person  be  placed 
within  its  rays,  anywhere  between  the  lantern  and  sheet, 
they  become  colored  with  its  coloring;  or  the  perfect 
picture  may  be  intercepted  and  revealed  at  any  place  by 
the  introduction  of  a  screen.  The  beam  of  light  has  the 
same  cross-section  everywhere.  Made  up  of  these,  placed 
close  together  in  infinite  number,  for  they  are  without 
thickness,  they  are  one  after  another,  with  the  instan- 
taneous velocity  of  the  on-flowing  beam  of  light,  borne 
from  the  slide,  within  the  Lantern,  and  placed  upon  the 
sheet  in  full  view  of  the  beholder. 

5.  Thus  we  have  demonstrated  the  true  character  of 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  235 

placcD  anew  on  IRetina  iBvcx^  K nstant 


ihe  beam  of  light  from  the  lantern,  and  of  every  beam  of 
light  radiated  from  visible  objects.  Thus,  for  example 
of  the  latter,  I  am  now  looking  at  an  engraving  of  a  full 
length  portrait  of  Daniel  Webster  standing  erect;  imme- 
diately around  it  is  a  border  of  white  paper,  bordering 
this  is  a  gilt  moulding,  with  a  wide  light-colored  black- 
walnut  frame,  whose  outside  edges  and  corners  are  of 
very  dark  embossed  work.  The  light,  falling  upon  all 
these,  assumes  their  shapes  and  minute  characteristics, 
and  gives  them  their  various  coloring,  and  is  radiated  to 
my  eye,  having  for  its  cross-section  at  every  point  along 
its  course  the  visible  framed,  engraving  as  it  is,  as  it 
hangs  upon  the  wall  before  me,  and  as  it  rests  upon  the 
retina  within  my  eye,  where  it  is  placed  anew  every  in- 
stant by  the  beam  of  light  of  instantaneous  velocity. 
That  such  is  the  character  of  this  beam  of  light  is  re- 
vealed by  a  mirror,  placed  anywhere  between  the  engrav- 
ing, on  the  wall,  and  my  eye.  It  will  intercept  and  give 
a  cross-section  of  the  beam  at  that  point,  receiving  and 
showing  it  on  its  own  face ;  or,  if  the  light  be  sufficiently 
strong,  reflecting  and  casting  it  visibly  upon  another 
place  on  the  wall. 

In  regard  to  the  external  reality  itself  entering  into 
the  eye,  vision  does  not  differ  from  perception  by  the 
other  organs.  Thus  distant  sound  is  not  heard  till  it 
reaches  the  ear.  I  have  often  watched,  as  doubtless 
others  also  have,  a  carpenter  hammering  at  a  distance, 
and  could  see  the  hammer  fall  an  appreciable  time  before 
I  heard  the  sound  of  the  blow ;  the  light  having  greater 
velocity  than  sound,  the  visible  reality  came  to  my  eye 
before  the  audible  reality  came  to  my  ear. 

Here  it  may  not  be  objected,  that  as  the  light  passes 
through  the  lens  and  is  by  it  brought  to  a  focus  and  then 
thrown  upon  the  retina,  it  is  a  reproduction,  or  picture 
of,  and  not  the  external  object  itself,  which  we  see  ;  be- 


236  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

©bjectlvc  1Reallti3  of  Xfgbt  anO  Color 


cause  we  all  know  and  acknowledge  that,  though  the 
lens  of  the  telescope  and  microscope  bring  to  a  focus 
the  light  as  it  passes  through  them,  none  the  less  the 
astronomer  sees  the  stars,  and  the  microscopist  sees  the 
things  themselves  of  the  microscopic  world.  The  visible 
objects  themselves  pass  through  the  lenses. 

The  illustrations,  which  we  have  given,  answer  the  first 
question  above  stated.  "  If  we  see  only  the  minute  pic- 
ture upon  the  retina  within  the  eye,  how  can  we  be  said 
to  directly  cognize  the  things  of  the  external  world  ?  " 
The  illustrations  show,  that  it  is  literally  true,  that  the 
things  of  the  world  are  directly  cognized  by  us,  and 
make  it  plain  how  this  is  so. 

But  it  is  evident,  that  the  explanation  depends  upon 
the  objective,  external  reality  of  light  and  color.  Color 
is  within  the  eye  resting  upon  the  retina,  but  it  is  there, 
because  it  is  first  in  the  sun  and  spread  out  upon  every 
visible  object  in  Nature. 

a.  We  have  all  along  been  insisting  upon  this  fact. 
We  have  established  the  Objective  Reality  of  Light  and 
Color  by  the  unmistakable  testimony  of  Consciousness 
to  this  effect,  and  by  this  testimony  as  interpreted  and 
understood  by  all  men.  This  reality  has  now  been 
brought  distinctly  forward  by  the  illustrations  given, 
which  show  conclusively,  that  the  only  thing  which  is 
seen  is  color.  The  light  from  the  stars,  which  may  have 
been  destroyed  ages  ago,  is  real.  As  the  stars  themselves 
no  longer  are,  the  beam  of  light  is  the  only  reality,  and 
the  reality  which  astronomers  observe  and  upon  which 
they  found  their  calculations,  as  far  as  these  stars  are  con- 
cerned. The  only  thing  which  they  see  and  carefully 
observe  in  any  case  is  the  bright.  Variously  tinted  light 
of  the  stars.  If  this  be  subjective,  real  only  as  a  feeling, 
or  sensation  within  our  vital  organism,  there  are  no  stars 
of  light,  no  visible  spangled  heavens,  no  shining,  glorious 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  237 

©tberwisc  Bll  ie  JSlacftness 


constellations,  nor  would  there  be  the  mid-day  glory  of 
the  sun,  nor  gorgeous  coloring  of  the  skies  and  clouds 
of  the  rising  and  closing  day.  There  might  be,  perhaps, 
ethereal  vibrations  everywhere,  but  the  overarching 
heavens,  by  night  and  by  day  alike,  would  be  as  black  as 
the  blackest  darkness  can  be;  the  affirmation  of  which 
no  one  can  be  made  to  believe.  The  abiding  assurance 
which  all  men  have  is  the  assurance  founded  upon  our 
observation,  that  there  is  a  universe  of  shining  stars, 
bright  with  the  brightness  of  their  own  light,  a  bright- 
ness, which  is  independent  of  human  sight  and  which 
would  remain  unchanged  and  undiminished  did  the  eye 
of  God  alone  behold  it. 

b.  The  illustration  from  the  Lantern  also,  brings  dis- 
tinctly forward  the  objective  reality  of  "light  and  color." 
We  have  carefully  shut  out  from  the  dark  room  every- 
thing, but  the  one  colored  beam  of  light  thrown  upon 
the  sheet ;  there  is  nothing  else  with  which  we  have  to 
do.  If  color  be  not  real,  there  is  no  visible  reality  in 
the  room  whatever.  The  beam  of  light,  the  colored  pic- 
ture on  the  sheet,  the  light  in  the  Lantern  are  all  dark, 
black  and  unseen  ;  they  are  but  vibrations  of  the  invisible 
Ether,  the  bright  coloring  within  the  room  is  all  imag- 
inary. The  afifirmation  of  such  blackness  no  one  can  be 
made  to  believe.  Certain  it  is  that  if  color  be  not  an 
objective  reality,  there  is  nothing  visible  in  the  dark 
room  of  the  lantern  exhibition,  not  even  the  so-called 
primary  qualities,  thus — 

The  sheet  is  perfectly  plain,  not  a  line  drawn  upon  it. 
Of  the  figured  picture  thereon  the  size,  shape,  expanse, 
outlines,  configurations,  movements,  such  as  may  be  in- 
troduced by  the  use  of  mechanical  slides  in  the  lantern, 
are  all  of  the  color.  They  come  and  go,  as  the  beam  of 
light,  in  which  they  all  are  throughout  its  length,  is 
thrown  upon  and  taken  from  the  sheet.     They  can  have 


238  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

©ut  Concept  of  tbe  TReallt^  "  Color  " 


no  more  reality  than  the  color,  to  which  they  belong  and 
of  which  they  are  the  qualities,  has. 

c.  The  objective  reality  of  color  is  still  further  proved 
by  the  demonstration,  which  the  Lantern  gives  that  it 
has  these  qualities.  As  shown  by  the  cross-section, 
which  may  be  made  anywhere,  they  are  all  in  the  beam 
of  light  as  it  leaves  the  lantern,  as  it  strikes  the  sheet 
and  in  the  open  space  between  the  lantern  and  sheet, 
where  there  is  nothing  but  the  beam  of  pure  light  alone. 

There  in  the  vacant  space  is  the  pure  light,  having 
within  itself  these  essential  qualities  of  the  material 
reality. 

Again — The  true  objective  reality  of  Color  is  proved 
by  External  Perception  by  Sight,  inasmuch  as  it  is  es- 
sential to  it. 

It  has  been  made  evident  that  we  perceive  external 
realities  by  the  direct  cognition  of  them.  By  the  organ 
of  Sight  the  one  only  thing,  which  we  cognize,  is  color. 
If  color  be  subjective,  it  and  all  that  pertains  to  it  must 
be  subjective  also,  and  we,  in  cognizing  it,  cognize  only 
that,  which  is  subjective ;  external  perception  is  reduced 
to  zero.  It  is  only  upon  the  supposition,  that  color  is 
an  objective  reality  that  external  perception  by  Sight  is 
possible.  Color  alone  is  before  us  in  vision,  we  directly 
cognize  it  and  its  qualities,  and  in  so  doing  behold  these 
realities  of  the  external  world.  If  these  be  not  real, 
there  are  no  realities  presented,  for  us  to  behold  by  sight. 

The  Objective  Reality-Color.  How  then  are  we  to 
conceive  of  this  objective  reality — "Color,"  as  it  is  vis- 
ibly spread  out  over  the  whole  face  of  Nature  in  all  its 
innumerable  tints  and  tones,  and  shades  and  varieties, 
and  in  all  its  endlessly  diversified  shapes  and  figures,  and 
ever  varying  phenomena,  appearing  and  disappearing,  as 
we  look  upon  them,  colors  and  colorings  shading  into 
and  displacing  one  another? 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  239 

XZbc  (Siualits  of  jEtbcrealDibratlons 


Scie7itifically ,  we  are  to  think  of  "Light  and  Color," 
as  the  vibrations  of  the  universally  prevalent  Ether.  But 
the  Ether  is  dark,  black  and  invisible.  So  also  must  its 
vibrations  be,  unless  the  etherial  vibrations  have  some 
manifested  quality,  or  produce  some  real  phenomenon. 
This  quality,  or  phenomenon  is  Color,  which  we  see,  be- 
cause it  has  real  being.  It  is  the  manifested  quality  of 
light,  it  and  light  are  one,  and  the  same. 

Light  with  its  Color,  comes  from  the  Sun,  and  touch- 
ing every  object  throughout  the  world,  gives  to  each  its 
appropriate  coloring,  which  it  withdraws  again,  as  it  de- 
parts leaving  all  things  in  their  own  blackness.  Light  is 
the  mystic  painter  of  the  world,  decorating  it  anew  every 
day  and  changing  its  marvellous  coloring,  as  the  hours 
and  the  moments  go  by.  Perfectly  black  in  itself,  the 
world  receives  all  its  marvellous  coloring  and  visible 
beauty  from  the  magic  touch  and  work  of  the  light. 

That  all  things  are  in  themselves  perfectly  black,  and 
have  their  colors  only  as  the  light  rests  upon  and  colors 
them,  is  an  assured  fact.  There  is  and  there  can  be  no 
proof,  that  colors  remain  on  objects  in  the  dark.  The 
only  proof,  that  we  have,  that  they  are  on  them  in  the 
light,  is  because  we  see  them  there.  But  this  proof  is 
entirely  wanting  in  the  dark,  and  no  other  is  had  in  its 
place.  To  assume  that  they  must  remain  because,  being 
on  the  objects,  we  always  find  them  there  the  moment 
the  light  strikes  them,  however  rapidly  we  move  them 
from  dark  to  light  backward  and  forward,  and  that  the 
light  simply  reveals  them,  is  a  mere  assumption  and  an 
attempted  explanation  of  the  appearing  and  disappearing 
of  the  colors.  The  only  thing  proved  by  such  experi- 
ment is,  that  the  colors  are  present  when  we  see  them. 
As  far  as  the  proof  from  sight  is  concerned  the  conclu- 
sion is  established,  that  they  are  present  when  visible 
.and  absent  when  invisible,  and  that  it  is  the  light  which 


240  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Iproofs  tbat  tbeir  Color  is 


gives  them.  This  conclusion  becomes  irresistible  when 
we  know  that  light  is  color ;  bathed  in  the  flood  of 
shining  color  the  objects  receive  their  coloring  from  it. 

It  cannot  be  said,  that  in  the  same  way  we  might  con- 
clude that  the  figure  and  the  solidity  of  the  objects  also 
vanishes  away  in  the  dark ;  for  by  touch  we  know  that 
they  remain  and  there  is  nothing  in  the  light  to  give 
them  their  solidity  with  its  figure. 

That  their  Color  is  given  to  objects  by  light  is  proved 
I.  By  the  fact  that  they  have  color  in  the  light  and  that 
there  is  no  proof  that  they  have  it  in  the  dark.  As  far 
as  we  can  discern,  they  are  then  perfectly  black.  This  is 
a  beginning,  and  is  in  accord  with  the  fact  to  be  proved. 

2.  The  colors  are  according  to  the  character  of  the 
light,  having  one  tone  of  color  in  the  sunlight  and 
another  in  artificial  light  and  according  also  to  the 
character  of  the  latter;  the  white  and  the  mellow  yellow 
light  giving  different  tones  of  color  on  the  same  object. 
At  times  a  blue  is  thus  made  a  green,  because  the  yellow 
rays  of  the  artificial  light  are  comparatively  stronger  than 
the  blue  and  are  radiated  together  with  the  blue  rays, 
the  combination  being  green. 

3.  By  the  effect  of  special  lights  of  one  color,  as 
"Bengal-Lights."  When  lighted  at  night,  if  red  they 
throw  their  red  color  upon  trees,  houses,  everything;  if 
yellow  they  make  all  things  yellow ;  if  green  all  things 
are  made  green.  Objects  cannot  have  their  ordinary 
colors  which  they  have  in  composite  light,  because  no 
such  colors  are  thrown  upon  them  by  these  single  lights. 
They  can  select  and  radiate  their  individual  colors  only 
when  these  are  contained  within  the  light  which  falls 
upon  them,  as  is  the  case  with  ordinary  light. 

4.  By  the  colors  on  the  clouds  at  sun-set,  and  at  all 
times,  changing  as  we  look  upon  them.  The  clouds, 
dull  grey  in   color,  become  brilliant  with  gold  and  red 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  241 

Given  to  ©bjccts  b^  Xigbt 


and  purple  as  the  sun  sinks  behind  them ;  and  as  it  sets, 
it  withdraws  its  light  and  with  it  all  the  gorgeous  color- 
ing, throwing,  as  a  farewell,  a  rosy  tint  over  clouds  and 
sky,  but  for  a  few  moments  only,  as  this  color  also  must 
depart  with  the  departing  light.  Of  the  driver  of  the 
Sun,  as  the  day  closes,  it  has  been  said, 

"  But  rushing  through  with  rapid  car, 
He  left  the  golden  gates  ajar, 
And  still  his  light  comes  streaming  through, 
Tinting  the  clouds  with  purple  hue." 

All  the  sun-set  colors  are  in  the  sunlight. 

5.  By  the  rainbow,  which  is  nothing  but  pure  light 
broken  up  into  its  own  rainbow  colors  by  the  particles 
of  moisture  in  the  air;  also  by  the  flash  of  lightning 
which  is  light,  with  its  color  of  dazzling  yellow  bright- 
ness. 

6.  By  the  prismatic  colors  thrown  on  the  wall  by  glass 
prisms,  and  in  the  prisms  themselves.  Here  we  have 
nothing  but  the  clear,  colorless  glass  and  the  light  with 
its  own  colors ;  these  being,  not  only  on  the  wall  and  on 
the  prisms,  but  also  at  any  point  in  the  beam  of  light 
between  them  in  the  air.  This  rainbow  beam  of  light 
colors  every  thing  upon  which  it  falls. 

7.  By  the  bright  fire-color  of  the  burning  logs,  and 
coals  of  a  wood  fire.  The  brilliant  colors  all  depart  and 
the  charred  wood  and  coal  turn  to  the  blackness  of  char- 
coal, when  the  fire  is  extinguished  by  water. 

8.  By  the  iridescence  of  "  Mother  of  Pearl,"  and  of 
Steel  Buttons  ruled  with  microscopic  lines.  The  former 
is  due  to  the  prismatic  action  of  the  surface  of  the 
"  Mother  of  Pearl,"  and  not  to  any  possible  coloring  of 
its  own.  The  Steel  Buttons  are  totally  devoid  of  the 
prismatic  colors,  which  are  due  to  lines  engraved  upon 
them;  these  break  up  the  light,  as  is  done  by  the 
Mother  of  Pearl,  in  imitation  of  which  it  was  made. 

16 


242  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

proofs  ContinucO 


9.  By  the  Mirror  held  up  before  a  painted  landscape. 
It  will  have  the  colored  painting  on  its  surface  and 
might,  if  the  light  were  strong  enough,  throw  it  upon 
another  wall.  The  color  on  the  wall  and  on  the  mirror 
all  come  from  the  painting,  and  hetice  all  must  be  in  the 
light,  for  the  mirror  receives  and  reflects  nothing  but 
light.  Moreover,  the  picture,  thrown  on  the  wall,  is 
pure  light,  that  on  the  mirror  is  pure  light,  that  which 
the  painting  radiates  as  it  pictures  itself  on  the  mirror 
and  thence  on  the  wall,  is  pure  light ;  and,  as  the  paint- 
ing is  not  self-luminous,  the  light  which  it  radiates  is 
that  which  falls  upon  it,  in  which  the  colors  must  be  and 
with  the  withdrawal  of  which  they  must  depart,  unless 
the  painting  imparts  colors  to  the  light,  of  which  there 
is  no  proof,  while  we  know  that  the  light  may  have  color 
as  it  has  on  the  mirror  and  on  the  wall ;  and  it  may  be 
demonstrated  to  have  it  before  it  touches  the  painting, 
by  the  introduction  of  a  clear  glass  prism,  or  a  ruled 
steel  button. 

10.  By  the  "  Magic-Lantern."  The  colored  picture 
exhibited  on  the  sheet  is  nothing  but  the  cross-section 
of  the  colored  beam  of  light,  and  is  there  only  when  the 
beam  of  light  is  thrown  upon  it. 

11.  By  the  experiment  of  colored  objects,  gradually 
moved  from  bright  light,  through  declining  light  to 
darkness.  Take  a  ball  of  any  color,  red  for  example;  in 
a  bright  light,  the  color  is  brilliant  and  decided ;  as  you 
diminish  the  light  slightly,  the  color  is  not  quite  so 
bright,  a  shade  has  fallen  upon  it ;  as  you  withdraw  the 
light  yet  more,  the  color  becomes  a  deeper,  darker  shade, 
step  by  step,  till  with  the  entire  withdrawal  of  the  light 
it  deepens  into  black.  If  within  the  dark  interior  of  a 
deep  cave,  the  ball  may  be  held  up  against  the  bright  dis- 
tant opening  of  the  cave,  and  be  seen  as  perfectly  black. 
Reversing  the  process,  the  black  and  the  deep  shades  of 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  243 

Hll  ©bjccts  Colorless,  or  JBlacft 


color  brighten  into  the  brilliant,  decided  red  again,  as 
the  ball  receives  more  and  more  light,  and  with  it  more 
and  more  color.  All  the  dark  shades  of  colors  are  due 
to  the  diminished  amount  of  light,  radiated  by  the  ob- 
jects. They  are  not  different,  but  diminished  colors. 
[y  These  instances  give  positive  proof  that  light  is  color; 
that  it  throws  color  on  objects  ;  that  it  cannot  fall  upon 
anything,  without  giving  color  to  it ;  that  objects  cannot 
radiate  light,  without  radiating  its  color;  and  that  "the 
individual  coloring"  of  objects  is  according  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  light,  which  illuminates  them  and  that  they 
cannot  have  their  own  peculiar  colors,  unless  these  col- 
ors be  in  the  light  which  falls  upon  them. 

Accordingly,  nothing  can  be  more  assured  than  that 
objects  are  in  themselves  colorless  or  black,  which  is  the 
same  thing  and  have  their  distinctive  coloring  only  as 
the  light  gives  it  to  them. 

In  some  of  the  instances  given  the  colorlessness,  or 
blackness  is  self-evident.  Thus,  when  the  light  is  with- 
drawn, the  burning  wood  of  fiery  red  turns  to  the  black- 
ness of  charcoal ;  the  prismatic  colors  leave  the  glass  prism 
colorless,  and  the  wall  plain,  or  black  as  the  case  may  be ; 
the  sun-set  glories  turn  to  clouds  of  darkness ;  the  rain- 
bow leaves  nothing  but  the  dark  storm  cloud ;  the  path 
of  the  mid-night  flash  of  lightning  is  as  black  as  the  sur- 
rounding night;  in  themselves  "Mother  of  Pearl"  and 
the  Steel  Buttons  are  objects  with  a  peculiar  colorless 
surface,  they  have  lost  their  iridescence  entirely ;  the 
sheet  of  the  "Magic-Lantern"  becomes  as  black  as  the 
darkness  of  the  room.  In  all  these  the  blackness,  or 
colorlessness  of  the  objects  is  demonstrated ;  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say  that  their  colors  remaift  and  need  only  to  be 
revealed  by  the  light. 

There  is,  indeed,  a  proper  abiding  coloring  of  things. 
This  may  remain  unchanged  for  indefinite  periods,  as  in 


244  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

proper  HblMng  Color  of  V^binQ6 


the  paintings  of  ancient  Egypt,  of  Pompeii,  of  Rome. 
But  this  is  in  the  character  of  the  surfaces;  these  are 
such  that  they  separate  the  rays,  or  break  up  the  colored 
beam  of  Hght  and  radiate  only  those  of  the  colors  appro- 
priate to  each  surface,  as  the  glass  prism  does,  or  the 
steel  button.  As  long  as  these  surfaces  remain  uninjured 
they  become  colored  by  the  light  with  **  their  own  "  color- 
ing the  moment  it  falls  upon  them,  even  as  the  ''Mother 
of  Pearl "  and  the  Steel  Button  immediately  assume  their 
iridescence  in  the  light. 

Colorlessness  and  Blackness  are  the  same.  Practically 
"Black"  may  be  regarded  as  a  Color,  because  absolute 
absence  of  light  is  difficult  to  obtain.  Ordinary  blacks 
are,  almost  in  all  cases,  darkest  shades  of  some  color,  as 
is  expressed  by  the  terms  so  often  used,  "a  blue-black," 
a  "green-black,"  a  "purple-black,"  a  "dull  brownish- 
black."  In  these,  the  light  of  these  colors  has  been  re- 
duced to  an  extreme  limit,  but  something  of  it  remains 
and  such  blacks  have  color  and  some  degree  of  visibility. 
An  absolutely  jet  black  is  the  negation  of  color  and  is 
invisible. 

This  might  be  shown  by  cutting  an  opening,  of  any 
shape,  in  a  paper,  or  a  board,  held  up  in  open  space,  on 
a  dark  night  and  illuminated  by  a  strong  light.  The 
paper,  or  board  would  be  seen  with  the  figured  opening 
perfectly  black,  surrounded  by  the  brilliant  coloring ;  the 
black  itself  is  a  vacancy.  Perfect  Black  is  absolute  zero 
of  coloring,  even  as  scientists  speak  of  absolute  zero  of 
heat,  which  is  far  below  the  zero  of  our  thermometers. 

The  whole  question,  as  to  the  colors  of  objects,  is  of 
no  concern  to  those,  who  hold  that  color  is  a  subjective 
sensation.  For  these  the  objects  have  no  color;  the 
whole  world  is  perfect  blackness  by  night  and  by  day. 
Assured,  however,  as  we  are,  that  color  is  a  true  objec- 
tive reality,  the  question  is  one  of  the  utmost  importance, 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  245 

agrees  witb  tbe  Science  of  Xfgbt 

for  we  must  understand  and  explain  the  problems  which 
it  presents.  The  fact  that  there  are  such  problems,  and 
that  we  can  explain  them,  is  further  proof  of  the  objec- 
tive reality  of  color. 

The  universal  testimony  of  man,  that  objects  retain 
their  colors  in  the  dark,  cannot  be  adduced  to  prove  that 
this  is  actually  the  case;  for  the  general  opinion  of  men 
is  to  be  relied  upon,  only  when  it  is  founded  upon  imme- 
diate cognition,  or  consciousness.  But  the  coloring  of 
objects  in  the  dark  is  beyond  the  realm  of  this.  We 
cognize  the  coloring  in  the  light,  beyond  this  our  cogni- 
tion does  not  go.  The  general  opinion  that  objects 
retain  their  colors  in  the  dark  is  a  mere  supposition, 
founded  on  the  fact  that  they  always  have  them  un- 
changed when  in  the  light.  The  paintings  of  the  great 
masters,  Michael  Angelo,  Raphael,  Murillo  are  to-day 
what  they  were  when  first  painted. 

What  has  been  said  of  "Color"  is  in  accord  with  the 
Scientific  Theory  of  light,  and  receives  confirmation  from 
this  agreement. 

According  to  it,  all  colors  are  within  the  light,  and 
different  colors  are  manifest  according  as  they  are  sepa- 
rated and  one,  or  more  of  them  radiated,  while  the 
others  are  absorbed,  or  intercepted.  Thus,  light  passing 
through  a  ruby  glass  is  red,  because  such  is  the  nature 
of  the  glass,  that  it  allows  only  the  red  rays  to  go 
through  it ;  the  glass  is  not  red,  nor  does  it  give  color 
to  the  Hght;  the  blue,  yellow  and  green  glasses  intercept 
all  the  rays,  but  those  of  these  colors.  And  when  light 
falls  upon  a  red  surface  that  surface  is  red,  because  it  is 
of  such  a  character,  that  it  absorbs  all  but  the  red  rays, 
or  radiates  only  these  ;  and  so  in  regard  to  all  colors. 
The  sun  shining  through  a  fog  is  red,  because  the  rays 
of  the  other  colors  are  absorbed  by  the  moisture. 

Color,  being  thus  manifestly  a  material  reality,  which 


246  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Dow  we  See  tbe  Biternal  TKIlorl& 


is  carried  into  the  eye  and  there  directly  cognized,  a  satis- 
factory answer  is  given  to  the  first  of  the  two  questions 
mentioned.     How  do  we  see  the  external  world  ? — thus — 

The  whole  external,  material,  visible  world  is  a  world 
of  color,  with  its  varied  characteristics,  or  attributes. 
This  world  of  Color  is  an  objective  reality  and  is  such  as 
we  know  it  to  be,  and  in  its  whole  and  very  self  is  borne 
every  instant,  while  we  look  at  it,  with  light's  velocity 
into  the  eye  and  placed  upon  the  Retina  and  there  pre- 
sented to  the  omnipresent  Soul,  which  sees  it. 

To  appreciate  this  there  must  be  clearly  borne  in  mind 
the  conception  of  Color,  which  we  have  given,  and  the 
truth  of  which  we  have  proved.  Color  is  an  objective 
reality,  the  manifested  quality  of  Light. 

The  Second  Question. 

How  is  it  that,  cognizing  only  the  minute  picture  on 
the  retina,  we  look  to  the  far  beyond  and  behold  the 
great  world  in  all  its  grand  proportions  ? 

The  answer  to  this  involves  the  construction  of  our 
conception  of  the  world,  and  the  combination  and  co-or- 
dination of  the  perceptions  through  the  different  organs. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  sight  and  all  our  external 
perceptions  are  purely  an  intellectual  act ;  it  is  simply  our 
taking  knowledge  of  that  which  is,  and  it  is  a  great  mis- 
take to  suppose,  that  the  conception,  which  we  have  of 
the  world  as  we  behold  it  by  any  one  organ,  is  due  en- 
tirely to  that  which  we  perceive  by  it.  Thus,  for  ex- 
ample, when  I  see  the  horse  and  rider,  of  which  we  have 
spoken,  I  immediately  conceive  of  them  as  a  living  horse, 
of  flesh  and  blood,  with  a  smooth  soft  coat  of  hair,  and 
a  living  human  being,  with  his  body  of  flesh  and  blood 
and  with  his  indwelling  intelligent  soul,  though  I  could 
never  have  discovered  all  this  by  a  mere  look  at  them 
from  a  distance.     Practically,  therefore,  sight  reveals  to 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  247 

Sfgbt  IRevcals  more  tban  Wic  See 


us  far  more  than  that,  which  we  actually  see  at  the 
moment. 

As  with  the  horse  and  rider,  so  with  the  world,  as  we 
look  forth  upon  it.  Because  of  what  we  otherwise 
know,  the  conception  of  it  which  we  frame  in  our  minds, 
as  we  look  upon  it,  includes  far  more  than  can  be 
obtained  by  sight  alone.  Vision  being  an  intellectual 
act,  we,  in  seeing  the  world,  combine  all  our  knowledge 
with  that  which  comes  to  us  by  the  eye,  and  thus  form 
our  Vision  of  the  world  in  its  full  perfection,  a  vision 
which  is  true  to  the  reality. 

By  sight  we  cognize  the  minute  picture  on  the  retina. 
This  is  our  knowledge  of  the  visible  external  world.  It 
is  the  true  and  exact  knowledge  in  detail  of  its  phenom- 
ena, its  lights  and  shadows,  its  variegated  colors,  its 
configurations,  changes,  movements,  the  relative  shapes, 
sizes,  proportions  and  positions  of  all  the  world  con- 
tains. With  this  knowledge,  we  form  a  definite  concep- 
tion of  the  visible  world  as  it  is. 

Being  an  intellectual  act,  this  "  conception "  has  no 
size,  great,  or  small,  no  more  than  has  a  "conception" 
formed  from  a  description  given  in  words,  or  in  some 
other  way,  and  affords  no  means  for  the  determination 
of  actual  size.  I  may  have  before  me  on  the  table  a 
map  of  Europe.  This  may  give  the  outlines  of  the  con- 
tinent and  its  adjoining  islands ;  the  deep  indentations, 
forming  its  gulfs,  and  channels;  the  relative  shdi^cs, sizes, 
positions  of  its  different  countries,  its  rivers,  lakes  and 
mountains.  I  thus  form  a  true  conception  of  the  conti- 
nent, Sweden  and  Norway,  Russia,  Great  Britain, 
France,  Germany,  Austria,  Spain,  Italy,  Greece  and  the 
great  Mediterranean  Sea.  But  the  map  is  a  minute, 
insignificant  thing.  It  gives  me  no  intimation  of  the 
size  of  Europe.  Size  is  altogether  comparative.  I  must 
have  a  map  of   the  world  to  learn  that,  with  the  excep- 


248  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

SI3C  Comparative  /nbap  of  Europe 


tion  of  Australia,  Europe  is  the  smallest  of  the  con- 
tinents ;  and  there  must  be  exploration,  and  comparison 
with  some  standard  of  measure  to  learn  more  as  to  the 
size.  Thus  we  learn  that  its  coast  line  is  thousands  of 
miles  in  length,  its  territory  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
square  miles  in  extent,  its  mountains  thousands  of  feet 
in  elevation ;  and  here,  again,  all  depends  upon  what  we 
are  to  understand  by  a  foot,  and  by  a  mile. 

Like  the  map,  the  picture  on  the  retina  is  very 
minute,  but  as  the  former,  with  knowledge  otherwise 
obtained,  gives  us  a  true  conception  of  Europe  in  its 
great  proportions,  so  the  latter  gives  us  the  true  and  en- 
larged conception  of  the  world,  when  the  knowledge, 
which  it  affords  is  combined  with  that  from  other 
sources. 

We  can  form  no  conception  of  the  size  of  what  we  see, 
except  by  comparison  with  some  standard  of  measure- 
ment. Sight  gives  only  the  relative  sizes  of  the  things 
seen.  These  are  all  perfectly  given,  minute  as  they  all 
are,  on  the  retina ;  men,  trees,  mountains,  clouds  all  are 
there  in  their  true  relative  proportions.  Men  seem  to 
have  taken  the  human  body  as  the  basic  standard  of 
measure.  By  handling,  we  find  something  of  the  size  of 
our  body  and  have  taken  our  different  measures  from  it, 
as  is  indicated  by  the  names  which  they  bear.  A  cubit 
is  the  distance  from  the  elbow  to  the  tip  of  the  middle 
finger ;  we  speak  of  a  "  hair's-breadth,"  of  a  "  span-long," 
the  distance  from  end  of  the  thumb  to  end  of  Httle  finger 
extended;  of  a  "hand,"  the  measure  of  the  fist  clinched, 
the  same  as  a  "palm;"  of  a  "finger's  breadth,"  a 
"  finger's  length  ;  "  of  a  "  foot,"  of  a  "  pace,"  or  "  stride." 
From  this  we  have  a  mile,  which  is  over  five  thousand 
feet  in  length.  The  French  have  taken  the  Globe  of  the 
Earth  as  a  base ;  their  "Metre"  being  the  ten  millionth 
of  a  terrestrial  meridian.     Astronomers  use  the  velocity 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  249 

StanOarD  of  Measure  "MecDeD 


of  light  to  measure  the  distances  of  the  stars,  some  of 
which  are  so  far  distant,  that  they  are  hundreds  of  "Hght 
years "  away  in  the  depths  of  space.  But  to  form  any 
idea  of  the  Metre  and  Light-measure,  we  must  fall  back 
upon  the  measure  of  the  human  body. 

Knowing  the  true  relative  proportion  of  the  things  of 
the  world  by  sight,  knowing  the  body  by  handling,  with 
measures  taken  from  it  we  measure  the  things  around 
us.  Thus  we  learn  their  size  as  compared  with  the  size 
of  the  human  body ;  and  say  of  a  tree,  that  it  is  forty,  or 
a  hundred  feet  high;  of  the  mountains  that  they  are 
thousands  of  feet  in  elevation ;  of  oceans  and  continents 
that  they  are  thousands  of  miles  in  length  and  breadth. 
With  this  knowledge  of  the  measured  size  of  the  world, 
when  we  conceive  of  it  as  we  see  it  in  its  true  relative 
proportions  on  the  retina,  our  conception  embraces  this 
additional  real  characteristic  of  it.  In  these  days  of 
modern  Astronomical  Science,  we  see  immeasurably 
deeper  in  the  realms  of  Space  than  the  ancients  did,  and, 
by  reason  of  geographical  exploration  and  discovery, 
our  conception  of  the  world  is  much  more  enlarged 
than  theirs  was,  though  their  sight  was  as  keen,  and 
even  more  keen  than  ours. 

Yet  again,  by  actual  measurement  we  learn  the  meas- 
ured distance  of  visible  objects  from  one  another,  and 
from  our  own  persons  and  eyes,  and  conjoin  this  knowl- 
edge with  that  obtained  by  vision  itself  as  we  form  our 
conception  of  visible  things.  Were  we  entirely  depend- 
ent upon  sight,  our  conception  of  the  world  would  be  of 
the  most  limited  and  unsatisfactory  character,  as  much 
so  as  would  our  conception  of  Europe,  if  we  thought  of 
it  as  a  mere  map  printed  on  paper. 

It  is  by  the  Might  of  Intellectual  Power,  combining 
all  our  knowledge  obtained  by  the  different  organs  of 
perception  and  wrought  upon  by  thought,  that  by  vision 


250  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Bnewcr  to  tbc  Zwo  (Siuestions 


we  look  far  off  beyond  us  and  behold  the  world,  as  it 
really  is  in  its  sun-given  beauty  of  every  tint  and  color, 
its  vast  extent,  its  soul  inspiring  sublimity. 

Thus  the  two  questio7is  are  answered.  We  see  distant 
things  because  they  come  to  us,  enter  the  eye  and  rest 
upon  the  retina ;  and  seeing  them  in  their  relative  pro- 
portions and  distances,  we  conceive  of  them  in  their 
actual  size  and  distance  from  one  another  and  from  us, 
which  we  know  they  have  as  compared  with  measures 
derived  from  the  human  body. 

Visual  Perceptioft  of  Distances. 

The  question  has  often  been  asked,  is  "Visual  Percep- 
tion of  Distances"  original,  or  acquired?  Sir  William 
Hamilton  says,  that  formerly  it  was  supposed  to  depend 
upon  an  original  law  of  our  constitution,  but  that  in 
Berkeley's  "New  Theory  of  Vision,"  published  in  1709, 
"it  appears  most  clearly  demonstrated  that  our  whole 
information  on  this  subject  is  acquired  by  experience  and 
association " — that  this  conclusion  is  supported  by  the 
greatest  mistakes  into  which  we  fall,  with  respect  to  the 
distances  of  objects,  when  we  form  our  judgment  solely 
from  the  visible  impression,  and  that  it  is  confirmed  by 
the  case  of  Cheselden ;  the  patient  thought  all  objects 
touched  the  eye.  Again  "  The  whole  question  is  thrown 
into  doubt  by  the  analogy  of  the  lower  animals.  If  in 
man  the  perception  of  distances  be  not  original,  but 
acquired,  the  perception  of  distances  must  be  also  ac- 
quired by  them.  But  this  is  not  the  case  in  regard  to 
animals;  this  confirms  the  reasoning  of  those  who  would 
explain  the  perception  of  distance  in  man  as  an  original, 
and  not  as  an  acquired  knowledge,"     Lect.  28. 

Dr.  McCosh  says  "  But  while  the  perception  of  dis- 
tance is  not  an  original  endowment  of  sight,  it  can  be 
acquired." 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  251 

■fflot  an  acQUireD  perception 


A  distinction  is  thus  made  between  original  and 
acquired  perception.  This,  however,  is  a  distinction 
which  is  not  true,  except  in  a  very  loose,  popular,  un- 
scientific, sense  of  the  words.  From  the  presentation, 
which  we  have  given  of  perception  by  sight,  it  is  evident 
that  we  have  no  acquired  perceptions.  The  word  origi- 
nal also  is  unfortunate,  being  ambiguous.  Sir  William 
Hamilton  says,  that  before  Berkeley  the  perception  of 
distance  was  supposed  to  depend  upon  an  original  law 
of  our  cojtstitution.  This  is  obscure  and  mystic,  and  is 
certainly  to  be  rejected.  The  term  "original  "  if  used  at 
all,  which  it  need  not  be,  must  be  taken  in  the  sense, 
that  the  visual  perception  of  distances  belongs,  not  to  a 
law  of  our  constitution,  but  to  visual  perception  itself;  is 
included  in  it. 

Scientifically,  the  distinction  should  not  be  made. 
The  simple  statement  is,  that  visual  perception  of  dis- 
tance is  the  careful  observation  and  interpretation  of  that 
which  we  see.  This  is  evidently  true  from  the  proper 
consideration  of  "Sight,"  as  it  has  been  presented. 

The  external  reality  enters  the  eye  and  is  placed  upon 
the  retina,  pictured  there  exactly  as  it  is  at  a  distance. 
That  which  we  perceive  is  this  picture ;  and  by  no  possi- 
bility can  we  acquire  the  power  of  perceiving  any  thing 
more  than  that  which  is  within  it.  As  sight  is  an  in- 
tellectual act,  we  see  only  as  we  take  knowledge  of  and 
understand  the  realities,  which  are  presented  by  the 
organ  of  sight.  Hence  it  is,  that  sight  differs  greatly  in 
different  individuals,  and  in  the  individual  himself.  Men 
may  increase  their  visual  power  by  becoming  more 
observant,  and  by  penetrating  the  deeper  into  the  true 
significance  of  the  things  which  they  observe. 

Many  instances  might  be  given  illustrative  of  this. 

Multitudes  go  through  the  world  without  observation 
and  without  asking  themselves  the  meaning  of  what  they 


252  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

IFnsigbt  Into  tbc  Meanings  of  tTbings 


see.  Others  are  very  observant  and  penetrating.  Some 
have  carefully  trained  themselves  in  these  respects. 
They  become  quick  in  seeing,  retentive  in  remembering 
and  sharp  of  insight  into  the  significance  of  things. 

It  is  said  of  a  certain  legerdemainist,  that  he  trained 
himself  by  rapidly  walking  past  a  shop  window,  glancing 
within  it,  and  then  trying  to  recall  what  he  had  seen. 
At  first,  he  could  tell  of  only  a  few  things  therein ; 
finally  by  such  rapid  glance  he  saw  and  remembered 
many,  if  not  all.  Sailors  and  woodsmen  see  and  know 
many  things,  to  which  others  seem  altogether  blind. 
Our  Indians  will  thread  their  way  through  dense  forests, 
where  ordinary  men  would  lose  themselves.  It  is  by 
noticing  things  to  which  others  give  no  attention,  and 
not  because  they  have  acquired  a  new  perception.  Dr. 
McCosh  refers  to  the  well  known  fact,  that  the  Indians 
will  see  a  trail,  hardly  visible  to  others,  and  looking 
upon  it  will  know  how  many  men  have  passed  over  it,  in 
what  direction  they  went  and  how  long  a  time  has 
elapsed  since  they  were  there ;  yet  they  see  no  more  than 
others  might.  Noted  detectives  have  become  wonder- 
fully expert  in  observing  and  interpreting  that,  to  which 
others  give  no  heed.  A  watch  was  given  to  one,  who 
thereby  read  the  character,  and  experience  of  the  owner, 
to  the  surprise  of  the  man's  friend  at  the  truthful  pre- 
sentation. He  described  him,  as  a  man  of  some  social 
position,  who  at  times  was  somewhat  prosperous,  and  at 
other  times  reduced,  because  he  drank.  The  explanation 
he  gave  was,  the  social  position  was  revealed  by  the 
character  of  the  watch  :  it  was  such  as  an  ordinary  man 
would  not  have  and  use ;  pawnbrokers'  marks,  more,  or 
less  repeatedly  made,  showed  the  difficulties  in  which  the 
man  was  at  times,  and  that  he  redeemed  the  watch  as 
frequently  showed  returned  prosperity ;  the  scratches, 
around    the    key-hole,  showed    the   uncertain   trembling 


jii  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  253 

perspective  In  paintings  ano  lUision 


handling  of  one  who  drank.  Other  most  striking  in- 
stances might  we  given  of  the  expertness  of  detectives. 

Another  illustration  is  found  in  "  reading."  In  learn- 
ing to  read  we  do  not  acquire  any  new  power  of  percep- 
tion. One,  who  cannot  read,  sees  just  as  distinctly  as 
readers  do,  the  printed  letters  and  words,  but  they  do 
not  understand  their  significance ;  just  as  in  regard  to 
hearing,  telegraph  operators,  of  the  Morse  system,  can 
read  the  message  from  the  clicking  of  the  instrument, 
though  they  hear  no  more  than  others  do.  They  inter- 
pret the  significance  of  the  sounds. 

All  these  instances  clearly  show,  that  in  Vision  every- 
thing depends  upon  intelligent  observation  and  interpre- 
tation; that  in  acquiring  superior  Vision,  we  do  not 
acquire  new  perception,  but  only  make  a  better  use  of 
that,  which  we  already  have. 

It  is  in  this  way,  that  we  are  to  understand  our  per- 
ception of  Visual  distance. 

It  is  in  regard  to  "Vision"  as  it  is  in  regard  to  paint- 
ings. The  correspondence  between  the  two  is  remark- 
ably close,  They  are  both  flat,  colored,  pictures  and  are 
according  to  the  law  of  perspective.  In  a  good  painting 
of  a  landscape,  we  can  look  along  a  far-reaching  road,  or 
down  through  the  vista  of  long  lines  of  trees ;  or,  in  an- 
other painting,  we  may  look  through  the  open  door  of  a 
Gothic  cathedral  and  distinctly  see  all  along  the  main 
aisle,  with  its  rows  of  pillars,  through  to  the  stained 
glass  window,  at  the  other  far  distant  eastern  extremity 
of  the  building.  With  these  perspectives  in  painting  we 
are  very  familiar.  They  are  in  the  paintings  and  we  see 
them  there  by  our  ordinary  power  of  sight.  We  are  not 
deceived,  for  such  is  the  real  character  of  these  paintings 
and  we  see  it.  If  the  painters  had  no  knowledge  of  per- 
spective and  no  skill  in  painting  it,  the  pictures  would 
not  have  it  and  we  could  not  see  it.     Having  before  us 


254  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec 

Me  see  distance  in  paintings 


paintings,  true  to  perspective,  we  look  through  long 
vistas  to  far-off  distances,  because  we  know  the  signifi- 
cance of  that,  which  we  actually  see.  If  there  be  per- 
sons, who,  having  never  seen  a  drawing,  or  painting, 
fail  to  see  the  perspective  at  the  first  glance,  it  is  a  mere 
failure  of  interpretation,  from  which  they  almost  imme- 
diately recover ;  the  painting  readily  bursts  upon  them, 
suddenly,  in  its  true  character. 

The  indisputable  fact  is,  that  in  true  perspective  paint- 
ings we  see  distances.  All  things  occupy  their  relative 
positions,  at  various  distances  from  one  another.  Some 
objects  of  the  landscape  are  on  the  extreme  right ;  others 
far  off  on  the  extreme  left;  others  are  at  various  inter- 
mediate distances  between  these ;  we  have  the  near  fore- 
ground; the  middle-distance  and  the  far-off  background; 
we  have  rocks  and  trees  immediately  at  hand,  and  the 
gable  ends,  the  roofs  and  spires  of  a  distant  village,  and 
beyond  it  the  mountains,  lifting  their  peaks  far  up  above 
the  plain.  It  must  be  noted,  however,  that  all  these  are 
only  relative,  not  actual  measured  distances,  no  more 
than  the  sizes  are  actual  sizes ;  the  actual  distances  must 
be  measured  to  be  known,  as  in  the  case  of  the  map  of 
Europe  before  mentioned.  The  painting  gives  no  indi- 
cation of  measured  distance,  we  do  not  see  it  therein, 
except  as  we  form  our  conception  of  this  from  knowl- 
edge otherwise  obtained. 

What  has  thus  been  said  of  paintings  is  true  of  the 
picture  on  the  retina.  Let  it  be  of  the  same  landscape 
and  cathedral,  of  which  the  paintings  are  pictures.  We, 
as  in  the  paintings,  look  along  the  far-reaching  road; 
and  down  through  the  vistas  of  long  lines  of  trees ;  and 
through  the  open  door  of  the  cathedral,  along  the  vista 
of  its  columned  aisle,  to  the  far  off  stained-glass  window. 
These  perspectives  are  in  the  pictures,  on  the  retina, 
and   we    see    them    there    by    ordinary    power    of    sight. 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  255 

anD  In  tbe  Same  TlGlais  in  Vision 


Such  is  the  real  character  of  the  pictures,  and  we  see  it. 
As  in  the  painting,  if  the  perspectives  were  not  there, 
we  could  not  see  them.  Having  on  the  retina  the  pic- 
ture, true  to  perspective,  we  look  through  long  vistas, 
because  we  know  the  significance  of  that,  which  we 
actually  see ;  if  we  do  not,  it  is  a  mere  failure  of  inter- 
pretation of  that  which  we  see. 

Here  again,  the  indisputable  fact  is,  that  in  the  true 
perspective  picture  on  the  retina,  we  see  distances.  In 
it,  as  truly  as  in  the  paintings,  all  things  occupy  their 
relative  positions,  at  various  distances  from  one  another. 
Some  objects  of  the  landscape  are  on  the  extreme  right; 
others  far  off  on  the  extreme  left;  others,  again,  at  var- 
ious intermediate  distances  between  these ;  we  have  the 
near  foreground  ;  the  middle-distance;  the  far-ofif  back- 
ground ;  we  have  rocks  and  trees  immediately  at  hand 
and  the  gable  ends  and  roofs  and  spires  of  the  distant 
village ;  and  beyond  it,  the  mountains,  lifting  their  peaks 
far  up  above  the  plain.  All  these  distances  we  distinctly 
and  unmistakably  see. 

But  here,  again,  it  must  be  noted,  that  these  distances, 
which  we  see  are  relative,  not  measured  distances.  We 
see  that  the  objects  are  at  various  distances  from  one 
another  and  back  from  the  foreground,  but  we  do  not 
see  the  measure  of  these,  except  as  we  form  our  concep- 
tion of  them,  from  knowledge  otherwise  obtained.  In 
other  words,  we  must  have  a  standard  of  measurement, 
with  which  to  compare  them.  This,  however,  is  not 
perception  ;  it  is  not  seeing;  it  is  comparison.  We  see 
the  distances  themselves,  and,  having  in  our  own  mind 
some  standard,  a  foot,  a  yard,  a  mile,  we  compare  them 
in  thought  with  these  measures.  Or  we  may  compare 
the  seen  distances  with  one  another.  Thus,  we  might 
compare  the  distance  of  a  rock,  in  the  foreground,  from 
a  tree  on  the  right,  with   its  distance  from  one  on  the 


256  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

/Bblstahes  ail  In  Compadeons 


left,  and  say  that  they  are  the  same,  or  different  to  such 
an  extent,  as  the  case  might  be. 

In  these  comparisons,  there  is  room  for  innumerable 
mistakes,  while  our  perceptions  of  the  distances  them- 
selves are  perfectly  true.  The  comparisons  are,  often, 
little  better  than  guess-work.  We  see,  as  we  take  a 
walk,  a  house  at  the  far  end  of  a  road,  and  we  are  not 
mistaken;  it  is  there  away  off,  in  the  distance;  but  we 
guess  that  it  is  about  a  mile  distant.  We  enter  a  strange 
room,  and  we  guess  that  the  distances  of  the  walls  from 
one  another  are  fifteen  and  twenty  feet;  which  guess 
may  be  inaccurate.  We  see  a  stick  lying  on  the  ground, 
and  we  guess  that  it  is  a  yard  in  length ;  and  again  we 
may  be  in  error.  We  see  a  mountain  in  the  far  distance, 
this  is  perfectly  true;  but  we  may  be  wrong,  when  we 
suppose  that  it  is  twenty  miles  away;  it  may  be  twice 
that  distance,  or  more.  Such  mistakes,  of  a  constant 
occurrence,  prove  nothing  against  our  visual  perception 
of  distances,  as  not  acquired,  and  as  infallible ;  as  all  our 
true  perceptions  are. 

Thus,  it  is  evidently  true  i.  That  we  see  distances.  2. 
That  it  is  by  ordinary  vision.  3.  That  it  is  by  reason  of 
the  perspective  which  is  i7t  the  things  seen.  We  cannot 
see  the  different  distances  of  things,  in  the  same  line 
directly  in  front  of  us,  because  they  present  no  perspect- 
ive. By  perspective  is  meant  lines,  running  back  from 
the  foreground,  and  converging  towards  a  point  in  the 
distance.  The  perspective  in  itself  is  often  of  the  most 
subtile  character,  and  almost  impossible  to  Art.  The 
photograph  will  reproduce  and  show  it  to  us  plainly, 
where  Art  fails.  4.  That  the  distances,  which  we  see  are 
real,  but  relative,  not  measured;  the  latter  are  compari- 
sons with  a  standard.  5.  That  hence  we  must  under- 
stand the  perspective  and  must  have  a  standard  of  meas- 
urement.    6.  That  there  is  no  need,  nor  possibility  of 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  257 

perspective  Starts  into  Diew 


acquired,  new  perceptions;  these  are  only  the  better  use 
of  what  we  already  have.  7.  That  all  mistakes  are  in  the 
comparisons,  not  in  the  perceptions;  these  are  infallible. 

The  moment  we  are  capable  of  distinct  vision,  we  see 
every  thing  that  can  be  seen.  The  only  acquisition  pos- 
sible is  that  of  greater  attention  to  and  better  interpre- 
tation of  the  realities  seen.  For  this  the  perception  by 
touch  and  the  locomotive  automobile  powers  come  to 
our  aid.  We  see  an  object,  reach  forth  our  hand  to  take 
it  and  feel  for  it  till  we  find  it,  or  if  need  be,  walk  till  we 
come  to  it.  With  this  apprehension  of  the  extra-organic 
distance  of  things  seen,  immediately  as  by  the  touch  of  a 
magician's  wand  the  perspective  character  of  the  picture 
on  the  retina  starts  into  view,  we  at  once  understand  its 
significance.  We  now  see  it  aright  and  look  upon  the 
real  distances,  which  it  presents. 

An  illustration  may  be  had  in  the  "  Puzzle  Pictures," 
in  which  we  are  required  to  find  some  object,  as  for  ex- 
ample a  man,  which  does  not  immediately  appear.  Often 
we  may  scrutinize  the  picture  by  the  hour  unsuccessfully, 
when  suddenly  the  figure  is  seen  so  plainly  that  we  can- 
not help  seeing  it  and  wonder  why  we  could  not  see  it 
before.     We  did  not  look  at  the  picture  aright. 

So  the  moment  we  look  at  the  picture  on  the  retina 
aright,  as  an  infant  may  do,  we  see  the  relative  distances 
of  objects  from  one  another,  and  from  ourselves,  as  some 
part  of  the  body  is  almost  at  all  times  included  within 
the  vision.  And  with  the  body,  as  a  standard  of  meas- 
ure, we  compare  the  distances  seen  with  it,  and  obtain 
some  knowledge  of  their  measurement. 

All  we  have  thus  presented  is  in  accord  with  the  cases 
of  the  blind  who  have  obtained  sight.  Finding  by  touch 
that  visible,  tangible  objects  were  not  close  to  their  eyes, 
as  they  seemed  to  be  at  first,  they  interpreted  the  vision 
aright  and  saw  the  distances  presented. 
17 


258  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

agrees  wltb  IDlslon  in  ll?oung  Bnlmals 


It  is  in  accord  also  with  the  visual  perception  of  dis- 
tances, by  the  young  of  the  lower  animals,  antecedent  to 
all  experience.  The  young  chickens  immediately  upon 
leaving  the  shell  seem,  as  it  has  been  expressed  "to 
understand  this  language  of  vision,  as  well  as  they  ever 
do  afterwards,"  while  the  human  infant  seems  incapable 
of  this. 

There  is  a  most  striking  contrast  between  the  infant 
and  the  young  chicks.  The  former  is  immature  in  mind 
and  body;  he  seems  not  to  notice  anything,  can  neither 
stand  nor  walk,  he  is  the  perfection  of  helplessness.  The 
newly-hatched  chicks  are  wonderfully  matured.  Mentally, 
they  seem  as  far  advanced  as  they  ever  become.  They 
know  the  hen,  as  their  guide,  and  protector;  they  dis- 
tinguish her  varied  calls,  to  partake  of  the  food,  to  run 
to  her  as  a  refuge  from  danger,  or  to  quietly  repose 
beneath  her  wings  for  rest.  They  apprehend  danger  and 
are  all  alert  to  escape  from  it;  they  take  notice  of  every- 
thing around  them ;  they  distinguish  and  act  upon  the 
direction  of  sound ;  they  perceive  the  difference  between 
food  and  that  which  is  not  food ;  they  know  that  they 
must  scratch  and  peck  and  strive  for  a  living,  and  are 
ever  active  in  so  doing.  Bodily  they  are  far  advanced 
also ;  can  stand,  walk  and  run  with  rapidity,  in  any  direc- 
tion, with  confidence.  With  this  advanced  mental  and 
physical  development,  as  sight  is  an  intellectual  act,  they 
interpret  vision  aright  from  the  very  outset.  Seeing  a 
particle  of  food,  hunger  prompts  them  to  take  it;  they 
peck  at  it  and  run  to  it,  not  knowing  how  far,  or  near  it 
may  be,  and  in  a  moment,  the  true  character  of  visual 
distance  bursts  upon  them. 

Moreover,  it  may  be  suggested  that  there  is  possible 
exaggeration  in  regard  to  the  comparative  ability  of  the 
chicks  and  the  inability  of  the  infant.  An  infant,  only  a 
month  old,  will  reach  out  his  hand  to  take  things  held 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  259 

©tber  t>resentation6  at  ffault 


up  before  him.  He  thus  seems  to  see  distances,  as  soon 
as  he  takes  notice  of  anything,  and  may  not  be  so  far  in- 
ferior to  the  chick,  as  is  supposed. 

In  both  cases  it  is  simply  a  question  of  mental  and 
bodily  maturity. 

Our  presentation  establishes  the  reality  of  actual,  visual 
perception  of  real  distances.  Other  presentations  give 
no  explanation  of  it  and  make  it  impossible.  By  ex- 
cluding it  from  what  they  call  "original,"  they  exclude 
it  from  all  true  perception.  They  make  it  an  estimate 
and  a  judgment,  founded  on  association. 

Visual  perception  is  reduced  to  what  might  be  called 
inferential  vision ;  that  is  an  inference  founded  upon 
something  else,  which  we  do  see. 

Still  further,  the  contrast  between  these  presentations 
and  that,  which  we  have  given,  is  very  striking.  The 
former  leave  the  distant  objects  and  their  distances  far 
off,  where  they  must  be  invisible ;  whereas  ours  brings 
the  objective  reality,  the  whole  distant,  visible  phenom- 
enon with  all  its  characteristics  of  color,  figures,  motions, 
relative  sizes,  proportions,  positions,  distattces,  perspec- 
tives, down  to  the  minutest  detail  into  the  eye,  and  places 
all  these  upon  the  retina,  where,  and  where  alone,  we 
directly  cognize,  that  is  see  them  as  they  actually  are 
themselves.  We  cognize  the  real  distances  as  truly  and 
in  the  same  way,  as  we  cognize  the  other  visible,  char- 
acteristics just  named. 

The  Inverted  Picture. 

That  which  has  proved  a  veritable  Puzzle,  is  the 
problem  of  the  Inverted  Picture  upon  the  Retina.  The 
explanations,  which  have  been  given,  are  of  the  most 
unsatisfactory  character. 

If,  however,  we  accept  as  true  what  has  been  said  of 
Vision,    the    problem    resolves    itself  in  a   most    simple, 


26o  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

inverted  picture  BiplaineJ) 


plain  and  beautiful  manner.  The  Picture  upon  the 
Retina  includes  within  itself  the  entire  Vision,  without 
the  least  possible  exception,  not  even  that  of  our  own 
person,  or  any  part  of  our  body,  as  a  hand,  or  a  motion 
of  the  finger.  There  is  nothing,  therefore,  with  which 
the  picture  may  be  compared  to  determine  its  position. 
In  cognizing  it,  we  have  our  knowledge  of  the  visible 
world,  and  "knowledge"  has  no  position  up,  or  down. 
The  knowledge,  obtained  from  vision,  has  no  more  posi- 
tion vertical,  or  other,  than  knowledge  from  vivid,  word 
painting  would  have. 

In  seeing  the  Picture  on  the  Retina,  we  see  all  things 
in  their  true  relations  to  one  another,  and  it  is  a  matter 
of  perfect  indifference  how  our  entire  visible  world,  our- 
selves included  within  it,  stands  related  to  that  which 
lies  outside  of  it,  and  of  which  we  have  no  knowledge 
whatever.  We  have  no  means  of  telling  how  it  stands 
related  to  this,  nor  how  often  and  to  what  degree  the 
relative  positions  may  change. 

An  illustration  and  proof  of  this  is  readily  given.  We 
may  suppose  ourselves,  with  many  others,  to  be  walking 
within  a  great  Gothic  Cathedral,  the  doors  of  which  are 
shut,  and  from  the  windows  of  which  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  look.  Shut  within  the  Cathedral,  could  it  be 
moved,  without  the  least  perceptible  jar,  or  vibration, 
and  could  ourselves  and  others,  and  all  things,  maintain 
our  relative  positions  to  one  another,  and  to  the  build- 
ing, we  would  be  ignorant  of  any  and  every  change  of 
position,  which  the  Cathedral  might  have.  It  might  be 
laid  on  its  side  upon  the  ground,  or  stood  up  perpendic- 
ularly upon  either  end,  or  completely  inverted,  founda- 
tions and  floor  lifted  heavenward,  and  roof  and  spires 
directed  downward.  We,  and  the  whole  company  of 
those  within,  would  still  promanade  the  spacious  aisles 
and  look  upward  to  the  vaulted  ceiling  over  our  heads. 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  261 

■ffUustrateO  b!2  a  CatbcDral 


This  would  be  regarded  as  an  absurd  extravaganza,  were 
it  not  an  actual  fact.  The  Cathedral  is  thus  laid  on  its 
side,  or  stood  on  end,  and  its  roof  and  spires  are  turned 
downward  every  twelve  hours,  while  we  know  it  not. 
Should  we,  and  others,  enter  the  Cathedral  at  noon  and 
remain  till  sunset,  the  building  at  that  time  would  be 
lying  on  its  side,  at  right  angles  to  its  position  at  noon- 
day, or  it  would  be  on  end,  as  the  case  may  be.  And 
should  we  remain  till  midnight,  its  roof  and  spires  would 
then  point  in  the  opposite  direction  to  that  in  which 
they  pointed  at  noon,  while  we  would  have  our  heads 
where  our  feet  were  and,  looking  at  the  vaulted  ceiling, 
our  eyes  would  be  directed  as  they  were  when  at  mid- 
day we  looked  upon  the  tessellated  pavement. 

Of  this  we  would  be  profoundly  ignorant.  We  have 
discovered  the  fact  through  our  knowledge  of  the  shape 
and  rotation  of  our  Earth,  and  by  comparing  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Building  with  the  Sun,  or  with  some  star,  or 
constellation  of  the  heavens. 

In  this  illustration,  we  have  the  exact  presentation  and 
explanation  of  our  Vision  of  the  Picture  on  the  Retina, 
and  this  leaves  nothing  more  to  be  desired.  The  ex- 
planation is  self-evidently  true  and  perfectly  satisfactory. 

An  explanation,  which  has  been  given,  that  the  in- 
verted picture  is  righted  because  we  refer  each  point  of 
it  along  the  visual  ray  to  the  point  from  which  it  comes, 
involves  an  assumption,  which  is  not  true.  It  assumes 
that  the  Soul  stands  behind  the  picture,  and,  projecting 
it  beyond  through  the  lens  of  the  eye,  looks  at  it,  as  at 
a  distant  object.  This  is  not  the  case.  We  look  not  at 
and  through  the  lens  of  the  eye,  but  upon  the  retina,  as 
the  astronomer  looks,  not  upward  and  through  the 
heaven-directed  end  of  the  reflecting  telescope,  but,  by 
an  opening,  down  upon  the  upturned  face  of  the  mirror, 
at  the  lower  extremity  within. 


262  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

•'  TRlgbtlng  "  of  Ifmage  not  IReeDeD 


Seeing  is  an  intellectual  act,  and  the  Soul  being  omni- 
present at  the  picture  on  the  retina,  neither  especially  in 
front  of,  nor  behind  it,  but  omnipresent  with  it  at  its 
every  part,  cognizes  it,  simply  takes  knowledge  of  it, 
as  it  is  there  present,  and  with  this  knowledge  it  forms 
its  conception  of  the  world. 

In  the  Camera,  the  look  of  the  photographer  is  upon 
the  picture  on  the  glass  near  his  eye.  He  makes  no 
attempt  to  project  the  picture  and  look  at  it,  as  at  a  dis- 
tance beyond  the  camera.  He  would  destroy  the  vision, 
should  he  do  so.  Thus  it  is  with  the  picture  on  the 
retina;  the  look  of  the  Soul  is  upo7i  it  as  it  is  thereon. 
The  Soul  no  more  projects  the  picture,  than  the  photog- 
rapher projects  that  on  the  glass,  at  which  he  looks. 
Our  ofif-look  upon  the  great  world  beyond  and  around 
us,  is  simply  our  knowledge  of  it  as  it  is  on  the  Retina, 
conceived  of  in  the  exalted  character,  which  we  know  it 
has,  from  the  additional  knowledge  of  it  otherwise 
obtained. 

But  still  further,  the  explanation  is  invalid,  because  it 
is  not  in  accord  with  the  laws  of  optics.  If  we  look 
through  a  lens,  which  inverts  the  image,  we  cannot 
right  it  by  any  possible  projection  of  it.  The  image  is 
inverted,  and  so  it  remains  as  we  look  at  it.  Moreover, 
as  above  pointed  out,  there  is  neither  need,  nor  possibil- 
ity of  "righting"  the  so-called  inverted  image.  Practi- 
cally, and  so  far,  as  the  whole  visible  world  is  concerned, 
there  is  no  inversion  ;  no  more  than  there  is  the  turning 
up-side-down  of  our  world,  every  twelve  hours.  We 
regard  it  as  right-side-up  at  all  times,  and  would  be  at 
a  loss  if  compelled  to  determine,  whether  the  mid-day, 
or  the  mid-night  position  were  the  true  one. 

The  Reversal  of  the  Picture 
The   Reversal   of   the   Picture    on   the   Retina   is   ex- 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  263 

f  llustratlone  THIlasbfnflton  /Ibonument 


plained  in  the  same  way.  As  all  things  visible  occupy 
their  true  relative  positions  unchanged,  as  all  including 
ourselves,  are  reversed  alike ;  and,  as  there  is  nothing, 
by  comparison  with  which  the  reversal  is  revealed,  we 
cannot  know,  that  any  reversal  has  taken  place ;  just  as 
if  we  were  in  the  Cathedral,  completely  shut  off  from  all 
outside,  we  could  not  tell  in  what  direction  it  might 
turn  around,  if  it  did  so  without  noise  and  without  the 
least  vibration;  or  if,  during  a  dark  night,  far  out  at  sea, 
we  were  in  a  bright  lighted  room,  below  deck  on  ship- 
board, we  could  not  tell  what  course  the  ship  was  tak- 
ing, or  how  greatly  it  might  change  its  course.  I  have 
been  at  night  in  a  "sleeping-car,"  when,  having  lost  my 
bearings  as  I  entered,  I  had  the  impression  that  the  car 
was  moving  in  the  direction  opposite  to  that  in  which  it 
was  really  going. 

All  these  cases  clearly  show,  that  we  cannot  tell,  that 
there  is  any  want  of  adjustment  between  the  "  vision  " 
and  that  which  is  outside  of  it;  and  also  that  there  is  no 
dififtculty  to  be  overcome. 

Binocular  Vision 

Another  Problem,  which  has  given  trouble,  and  the 
solution  of  which  has  not  been  satisfactory,  is  that  of 
Binocular  Vision.  How  is  it  that  seeing  with  two  eyes, 
we  have  but  one  vision  ? 

The  true  explanation  is  found  in  the  presentation  of 
Vision,  which  we  have  given.  "Seeing"  being  an  in- 
tellectual act,  and  "  vision  "  being  our  knowledge  of  the 
thing  seen,  as  pictured  on  the  Retina,  when,  and  in  so 
far  as  the  two  pictures  are  the  same,  in  cognizing  them, 
the  knowledge  which  we  thus  obtain  and  the  conception, 
which  we  form  from  it,  are  one,  not  double.  If  two 
persons  should  give  me  exactly  the  same  description  in 
words,  of   the  Washington  Monument,  on  the  bank  of 


264  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Seen  as  ©ne  because  tbe  Same 


the  Potomac,  so  alike  that  I  perceived  no  difference 
between  them,  my  conception  of  that  monument  from 
the  two  descriptions,  would  be  of  the  one  monumental 
shaft.  I  could  not  think  of  it  otherwise.  But,  if  the 
two  descriptions  differed  from  one  another,  I  would 
have  two  different  conceptions  in  my  mind. 

In  like  manner,  if  by  the  muscles,  the  inclination  of 
the  axes  and  the  focusing,  etc.,  of  the  eyes,  the  two  pic- 
tures on  the  Retina  be  so  much  the  same,  that  I  per- 
ceive no  difference  between  them,  my  knowledge  and 
conception  must  be  of  the  one  thing  thus  presented. 
But,  if  the  two  pictures  differ  from  one  another,  my 
conception  is  double.  I  have  two  different  pictures 
which  I  see. 

An  example  of  this  may  be  had  in  an  experiment, 
which  has  been  made.  Hold  up  the  little  finger,  at 
about  half  arm's  length  from  and  mid-way  between  the 
eyes.  Direct  the  eyes  to  an  object  beyond,  as  a  Vase  on 
a  Mantle,  the  little  finger  will  be  seen  as  two,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  distant  object.  The  reason  is  because 
the  pictures,  on  the  retinae,  differ  from  one  another;  in 
the  one,  the  finger  is  on  one  side  of  the  distant  object, 
and  in  the  other,  it  is  on  the  other  side.  This  is  because 
the  eyes,  being  apart  from  one  another,  the  rays  of  light 
fall  in  this  way  upon  the  retinae,  and  we  see  it,  when  the 
eyes  are  focused  upon  the  distant  object. 

Again  if,  when  looking  at  an  object  which  we  conceive 
of  as  single,  the  two  pictures  being  the  same,  we  press 
the  ball  of  one  eye  with  the  finger,  the  vision  becomes 
double,  because  the  two  pictures  are  thus  made  to  differ 
from  one  another.  The  rays  of  light,  though  coming 
from  the  same  object,  strike  the  two  retinae  at  different 
angles  and  at  different  places,  and  we,  observhig  the  dif- 
ference, see  the  pictures  as  two,  somewhat  separated 
from  one  another. 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  265 

'*  Sameness  or  IRot"  bow  DetermineD 


This  is  the  true  explanation,  but  it  cannot  be  appreci- 
ated unless  we  understand  how  it  is  possible  for  us  to 
know,  that  the  picture  on  one  retina  occupies  on  it  a 
different  position  from  that,  which  the  other  picture  has 
on  the  other  retina.  It  would  seem  that  there  is  noth- 
ing to  indicate  this,  as  it  is  the  entire  picture,  which 
changes  its  position  as  the  ball  of  the  eye  is  pressed, 
and  there  seems,  therefore,  to  be  nothing  within  the  eye 
to  show  any  change ;  and  we  cannot  compare  the  posi- 
tions of  the  two  pictures  with  one  another,  as  they  are 
two  independent  pictures  separated  from  one  another,  as 
much  so  as  a  picture  in  one  room  is  from  one  in  another. 

It  is  manifest  that  there  must  be  something  within  the 
eyes  themselves,  which  enables  us  to  localize  the  pictures 
in  their  respective  places  on  the  two  retinae.  Between 
the  relative  positions  of  two  pictures  in  two  rooms  we 
can  distinguish,  because  we  have  in  each  room  that 
which  determines  the  positions ;  for  example  the  picture 
in  one  room  may  be  near  the  ceiling,  that  in  the  other 
near  the  floor ;  or  the  one  may  be  hung  straight,  and 
the  other  in  a  slanting  position,  in  reference  to  the  lines 
of  floor  and  ceiling.  But  in  the  dark  interior  of  the  eye 
there  seems  to  be  nothing,  to  which  the  positions  of  the 
pictures  may  be  referred  and  determined.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  case  in  reality. 

There  is  what  is  called  the  "yellow  spot,"  the  ''for- 
amen centrale,'^  where  the  vision  is  the  most  vivid. 
The  characteristic  of  this  spot  is  that  it  has  not  a  definite 
boundary,  but  shades  off  insensibly  into  indistinctness 
and  into  total  obscurity.  It  may  be  conceived  of  as  a 
central  point  on  the  retina,  from  and  around  which  the 
vividness  of  vision  declines  in  every  direction  to  noth- 
ing. Here  it  is  that  we  have  that,  to  which  the  picture 
may  be  referred  and  its  position  on  the  retina  deter- 
mined.    In  all  ordinary  vision  the  centre  of  the  picture 


266  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Central  point  ot  IRetina 


is  at  the  centre  of  the  "yellow  spot,"  but  if  its  position 
be  changed,  it  moves  in  some  direction  from  that  central 
point,  and  towards  the  outlying  circles  of  indistinctness 
and  obscurity;  and,  as  in  every  picture  there  is  a  clearly 
perceived  right  and  left-hand  side,  the  movement  to  the 
right  and  left  from  the  central  point  is  manifest  also; 
the  same  thing  is  true  of  motion  up  and  down. 

The  experiment  of  pressing  the  eye-ball  clearly  shows 
this  to  be  the  case.  As  by  the  finger-pressure  we  thus 
change  the  position  of  the  picture,  it  will  be  noticed  that 
the  vividness  of  the  vision  of  it  diminishes;  and,  if  the 
eye-ball  be  moved  far  enough,  the  picture  will  disappear 
entirely.  Moreover,  the  change  of  position  is  per- 
ceptible when  the  other  eye  is  shut,  showing  that  there 
is  no  real  need  of  comparing  the  two  pictures  in  order 
to  perceive  the  change  of  position,  but  that  in  each  eye 
we  localize  the  picture  on  the  retina. 

The  same  truth  is  revealed  by  the  slow  moving  of  a 
glowing  spark,  looked  at  in  perfect  darkness,  when 
naught  but  it  is  visible.  With  nothing  within,  nor  with- 
out the  eye  to  which  to  refer  the  spark  and  manifest  its 
movement,  we  see  it  move  across  the  retina,  because  of 
the  central  point  of  the  "  yellow  spot."  The  spark  issues 
from  obscurity  on  one  side  of  it,  becomes  more  and 
more  distinct,  passes  by  it  and  enters  into  obscurity 
again  on  the  other  hand,  or,  keeping  within  the  field  of 
vision,  circles  and  zigzags  around  in  reference  to  its 
centre  and  outlying  boundaries. 

That,  when  the  pictures  are  dissimilar,  we  see  double 
is  plainly  shown  by  a  simple  experiment.  Place  a  thin 
board  between  the  eyes,  so  that  the  objects,  seen  by  the 
one  eye,  cannot  be  seen  by  the  other.  We  will  see  two 
different  pictures,  one  by  the  one  eye,  and  the  other  by 
the  other  eye.  The  experiment  will  be  somewhat  of  a 
strain  on  the  eyes,  showing  that  the  vision  is  different 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  267 

Double  Dision  sbown  bs  JEjperiment 

from  our  usual  and  normal  binocular  vision.  It  will  ap- 
pear that  it  requires  effort  to  see  the  two  pictures,  and 
we  will  find  ourselves  looking  at  them  alternatively,  now 
looking  at  the  one,  with  one  eye,  and  then  at  the  other, 
with  the  other  eye.  Having  two  pictures,  at  which  to 
look,  our  attention  is  somewhat  distracted  and  we  find  a 
little  difficulty  in  attending  to  both  at  once. 

It  has  been  said,  that  though  we  do  not  notice  it,  till 
by  experiment  we  discover  the  fact,  we  usually  look  with 
only  one  eye  at  a  time,  though  both  eyes  are  open. 
This  is  much  exaggerated  and  must  be  taken  with  great 
allowance.  So  far,  however,  as  this  is  the  case,  the 
reason  may  be  found  in  that,  which  we  have  just  men- 
tioned. We  really  have,  not  altogether,  but  in  a 
measure,  two  different  pictures  before  us  on  the  retinae, 
and  as  we  cannot  well  attend  to  them  both  at  once  we 
with  rapidity  of  change  look  at  them  alternatively,  now 
at  the  right  hand  one  with  the  right  eye,  and  then  at  the 
left  hand  one  with  the  left  eye;  or  accomplish  the  same 
thing  by  directing  the  two  eyes  rapidly  from  side  to  side. 
This  constant  "  play  of  the  eyes  "  is  one  of  their  notice- 
able and  interesting  characteristics,  as  we  watch  the  eyes 
of  another  person ;  it  is  wonderfully  beautiful. 

Again  it  is  to  be  noted  that  our  vision,  as  just  inti- 
mated, is  never,  except  in  certain  special  instances,  alto- 
gether single.  The  two  pictures  are  in  some  respects 
dissimilar,  and  hence  are  seen  double  so  far  as  that  is  the 
case.  Thus  the  vision  of  the  right  eye  is  extended 
further  to  the  right  hand  than  is  that  of  the  left  eye,  and 
the  vision  of  the  left  eye  is  extended  further  to  the  left 
hand.  These  portions  of  the  pictures,  being  thus  differ- 
ent from  one  another,  are  seen  as  two,  while  the  other 
parts  are  seen  as  one,  being  the  same,  except  so  far  as 
objects,  with  fulness  of  form,  are  seen  more  on  the  right 
side  by  the  one  eye,  and  more  on  the  left  by  the  other. 


268  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  skc. 

21  Difficulty  BjplaincO 


Here,  again,  we  see  double,  though  these  objects  be 
directly  in  front  of  us,  because  the  pictures  differ  in  this 
respect ;  and  it  is  because  we  have  this  double  vision  of 
objects,  that  we  are  the  better  able  to  see  their  shapes 
in  relief. 

A  fact  has  been  mentioned,  which  seems  to  be  incon- 
sistent with  our  explanation  of  binocular  vision. 

Thus  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter  says,  that  should  the  condi- 
tions, on  account  of  which  the  axes  of  the  two  eyes  do 
not  converge  in  the  object  looked  at,  become  permanent, 
as  in  squinting,  the  vision  after  a  time  becomes  single 
again,  notwithscanding  the  pictures  are  formed  on  parts 
of  the  retinae,  which  do  not  correspond.  Further  if  the 
muscular  irregularity  be  rectified  by  surgical  means,  so 
that  the  axes  of  the  two  eyes  can  be  again  brought  into 
convergence  in  the  object  looked  at,  double  vision  recurs 
for  a  time,  although  the  images  are  now  formed  on  the 
original  corresponding  points." 

It  seems  from  this  statement,  that  in  certain  cases 
there  is  single  vision  when  the  pictures  are  dissimilar, 
and  double  vision  for  a  time  when  the  pictures  are  the 
same,  while  according  to  our  presentation  of  binocular 
vision,  the  dissimilar  should  give  double  vision,  and  the 
similar  should  give  single  vision. 

Two  explanations  of  the  facts  mentioned,  may  be 
given,  founded  upon  what  has  already  been  said. 

In  the  first  place.  In  the  experiment  with  a  thin 
board  placed  between  the  eyes,  hiding  the  picture  seen 
by  one  eye,  from  that  seen  by  the  other,  it  was  noted 
that,  because  of  two  pictures  being  presented,  we  found 
it  difificult  to  attend  to,  or  look  at  both  at  once,  and,  in 
reality,  were  prompted  to  look  first  with  one  eye  and 
then  with  the  other.  While  looking  with  the  one  eye  at 
the  picture  presented  to  it,  we  could  disregard  the  other 
picture,  and  the  vision  would  be  single. 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  269 

Sinslc  DiBlon  In  Squinting 


Thus  when,  as  in  squinting,  there  is  an  abiding  dis- 
placement of  the  pictures,  and  hence  a  double  vision, 
the  individual  falls  into  the  habit  of  looking  with  one  eye 
only,  heedless  of  the  vision  by  the  other  eye.  This  is  in 
accord  with  the  alleged  fact,  which  is  in  some  measure, 
but  by  no  means  altogether,  the  case,  that  in  normal 
vision  we  look  habitually  with  only  one  eye.  Moreover, 
we  have  also  noted,  that  when  the  pictures  do  not  rest 
upon  corresponding  places  on  the  retinae,  the  displaced 
one  is  less  distinct  than  the  other,  and  if  the  displace- 
ment be  great  enough,  it  disappears  entirely.  This  in- 
distinctness of  one  of  the  pictures  would  greatly  tend  to 
prompt  the  individual  with  a  squint  to  give  heed  with 
one  eye  alone,  and  thus  have  single  vision;  and  in  some 
cases,  possibly,  the  squint  may  be  so  great  that  one  pic- 
ture disappears  entirely,  when  the  same  object  is  looked 
at  with  both  eyes,  though  each  eye  would  have  clearness 
of  vision,  when  used  separately. 

In  the  second  place.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the 
organs  of  our  body  become  atrophied  by  reason  of  want 
of  use,  and  to  a  greater,  or  less  degree  according  to  the 
degree  in  which  they  are  not  used;  and  that  they  be- 
come extraordinarily  acute,  or  sensitive  when  unusual 
work  is  thrown  upon  them.  The  familiar  illustration  of 
this  is  the  marvellous  acuteness  of  touch  in  the  blind, 
and  of  hearing  on  the  part  of  those,  who,  like  our 
Indians,  live  in  the  forests  and  on  the  plains,  and  depend 
upon  hearing  as  their  guide. 

In  accordance  with  this,  there  may  readily  be  a  change 
in  the  retina  of  the  eye,  all  the  more  so  because  of  its 
extreme  delicacy.  Moreover,  that  change  is  possible  we 
know  from  actual  facts  of  experience.  The  vividness  of 
vision  varies  with  the  varying  health  of  the  individual, 
and  it  is  as  true  of  sight  as  it  is  of  hearing  and  touch 
that    by   special    effort   and    training,    its    acuteness    or 


270  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

SeconD  Bjplanatton,  IWamcli? 


sensitiveness  may  be  greatly  increased.  It  is  also  a  well 
known  fact,  that  the  retina  loses  its  sensitiveness  from 
want  of  use.  A  prisoner  long  confined  in  a  dark  cell 
becomes  partially,  or  totally  blind  for  a  time,  and  even 
permanently  so.  He  may  sometimes  recover  sight  under 
the  kindly  influences  of  light,  if  judiciously  and  gradu- 
ally applied.  Moreover,  we  may  be  blinded  for  a  greater 
or  less  length  of  time  by  excess  of  light ;  for  example, 
if  we  look  directly  at  the  unclouded  sun,  our  vision  is 
seriously  impaired,  and  is  only  gradually  restored ;  the 
frequent  and  long  continued  exposure  of  the  eyes  to 
such  light  would  be  hazardous  in  the  extreme. 

We  have  positive  knowledge,  therefore,  that  the  vivid- 
ness of  vision  changes  with  use  and  disuse. 

Hence  it  is,  that  in  cases  where  the  picture  of  one  eye 
is  displaced  permanently,  the  centre  of  the  spot  of  most 
vivid  vision  may  change  in  like  manner.  The  part  of  the 
Retina,  which  normally  is  most  sensitive,  becomes  less 
so  from  want  of  use ;  and  the  part,  which  is  used  more 
than  in  the  normal  degree,  increases  in  its  sensitiveness, 
and  becomes  the  centre  of  the  most  distinct  vision ;  or 
in  other  words,  the  "  yellow-spot,"  with  its  centre  shifts 
a  little  to  one  side ;  the  actual  distance  necessary,  being 
however,  of  extreme  minuteness ;  a  change  which  might 
most  readily  occur  from  habitual  use. 

With  this  change  thus  effected,  the  vision  of  the  two 
eyes  becomes  single,  because  in  both  eyes  the  pictures 
have  the  same  position  in  regard  to  the  centre  and 
boundaries  of  the  "yellow-spot,"  by  reference  to  which, 
as  we  have  pointed  out,  the  position  is  determined. 

Hence,  also,  when  the  irregularity  of  the  eyes  is  recti- 
fied, by  surgical  means,  double  vision  recurs  for  a  time, 
although  the  pictures  are  now  formed  upon  the  original 
corresponding  points  of  the  retinae,  because  the  "yellow- 
spot"  of  the  one  eye,  shifted  by  habitual  use,  does  not 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  271 

tTbe  Centre  of  IRetina  mais  Cbange 

now  correspond  with  that  of  the  other  eye,  and  the  posi- 
tion of  the  picture  as  determined  by  it  is  different.  The 
double  vision,  however,  does  not  continue,  because  in 
the  eye  rectified  by  surgical  means  the  "  yellow-spot " 
in  time  changes  back  to  its  original  position,  by  reason 
of  the  change  in  the  habitual  use  of  the  eye,  which  has 
now  become  normal.  When  this  is  effected  the  vision 
is  single  again. 

With  the  two  possible  explanations,  which  we  have 
given  of  the  facts  in  question,  the  difiBculty  in  regard  to 
them  is  entirely  removed ;  and  that  such  explanation  can 
be  given  is  a  further  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  our 
presentation  of  Vision. 

By  way  of  hypothesis,  it  might  be  added,  to  make  the 
second  explanation  the  more  clear,  that  though  we  have 
spoken  of  the  change  as  taking  place  in  one  eye  only, 
this  is  not  necessarily  the  case.  Theoretically,  the  same 
effect  might  be  produced  by  the  shifting  of  the  "yellow- 
spot"  in  both  eyes,  in  opposite  directions,  but  only  to 
one-half  the  distance  required  if  the  change  be  confined 
to  one  eye.  This  would  make  it  less  difficult  for  the 
change  to  take  place.  The  individual  with  a  squint  in 
such  case  might  have  single  vision,  because  of  the  habit 
of  looking  at  an  object,  not  "directly  with  one  eye  and 
aside  by  the  other,"  but  by  looking  at  it  aside  by  both 
eyes,  the  object  being  intermediate  between  the  two 
lines  of  vision.  This  would  give  habitual  use  to  corres- 
ponding parts  of  both  retinae,  and  cause  the  "yellow- 
spot"  to  shift  in  both  accordingly,  and  thus  give  single 
vision.  And  should  the  eyes  be  rectified  by  surgical 
means,  double  vision  would  recur  again  for  a  time. 

Apparent  Deceptions  of  Perception. 

The  apparent  Deceptions  of  Perception  are  varied  and 
numerous.     They  have  been  used  to  establish  Idealism 


2^2  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Bpparent  Deceptions 


and  to  destroy  the  doctrine  of  Intuitive  Perception.  It 
is  manifestly  necessary  to  show  that  they  are  only 
apparent,  not  real ;  for  an  essential  part  of  Intuition  is 
its  Infallibility.  If  our  perceptions  are'  not  infallible, 
they  cannot  be  intuitive,  as  Intuition  is  the  immediate 
cognition  of  realities.  In  the  first  place  we  must  dis- 
tinctly understand  what  is  meant  by  the  claim  of  Infallibil- 
ity for  our  external  perceptions.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  our  consideration  is  at  present  confined  to  Vision. 

That  which  is  immediately  perceived  by  sight  is  the 
Picture  on  the  Retina.  This  is  the  objective  reality 
cognized,  and  it  is  this  Cognition  which  is  infallibly  true. 

With  this  distinctly  apprehended,  it  may  readily  be 
shown  that  all  the  alleged  deceptions  are  only  apparent. 
This  may  be  done  to  a  great  advantage,  if  we  discrimi- 
nate between  them  and  arrange  them  in  different  classes 
as  follows : 

I.  Class.  Those  which  are  Real  Phenomena  depicted 
or  placed  upon  the  Retina.  It  must  be  remembered,  as 
we  have  pointed  out,  that  a  "phenomenon"  is  not  a 
mere  appearance;  it  is  an  "actual  effect  produced,"  a 
"manifested  reality." 

These  are  no  deceptions,  though  often  regarded  as 
such.  This  clearly  appears  from  the  explanations  which 
we  give  of  the  following  instances. 

1.  When  a  straight  stick  is  partly  placed  under  water, 
it  is  seen  as  bent.  This  is  a  true  phenomenon,  or  effect 
produced  by  the  laws  of  light;  the  rays  of  light  are  re- 
fracted by  the  water.  This  effect  is  real  and  is  placed 
on  the  Retina  and  cognized  in  its  true  character.  If  we 
did  not  thus  cognize  it,  our  perception  would  be  false  as 
to  the  fact,  and  we  would  be  ignorant  of  one  of  the 
things  of  the  material  world. 

2.  When  the  Sun  and  the  Moon  are  seen  near  the 
horizon,  the  diameter  of  their  disks  is  greatly  augmented 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  273 

f .  Class    IReal  pbcnomena 


above  that  which  they  have  when  high  in  the  heavens. 
This  also  is  an  actual  phenomenon  or  effect  produced 
by  the  laws  of  light,  and  as  such  placed  on  the  Retina 
and  there  correctly  cogtiized.  The  enlargement  is  due  to 
the  different  states  of  the  atmosphere  through  which  the 
Sun  and  the  Moon  are  seen  in  the  two  positions.  If  we 
did  not  see  this,  we  would  be  ignorant  of  this  character- 
istic, or  thing  of  the  material  world. 

The  magnified  disks  are,  as  such,  thrown  upon  the 
Retina  just  as  they  are  thrown  upon  the  plate  of  the 
Camera  and  there  photographed.  There  is  no  more 
error  in  one  case  than  in  the  other.  Moreover,  such  is 
the  actual  size  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  that  the  lines  of 
vision,  which  they  subtend,  include  within  them  near  by 
objects,  as  houses  or  trees  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  as 
thus  presented  their  true  size  is  given  in  reference  to 
these  objects.  This  is  not  a  mere  inference,  or  judgment 
as  to  size,  but  an  actual  phenomenon,  or  effect  according 
to  the  laws  of  light,  and  is  depicted  equally  upon  the 
retina  and  the  photographic  plate;  a  mere  inference,  or 
judgment  on  our  part  could  not  be  photographed. 

When  the  Sun  and  Moon  are  high  in  the  heavens, 
their  actual  size  is  diminished  because,  owing  to  the 
purity  of  the  atmosphere,  the  angle  of  the  lines  of  vision 
is  greatly  reduced.  The  fact  of  the  smaller  size  is 
depicted  on  the  Retina,  and  photographed  by  the 
Camera;  it  is  a  reality. 

The  explanation  which  is  often  given,  that  the  Sun 
and  Moon  when  near  the  horizon  are  supposed  by  us  to 
be  larger  because  we  look  at  them  in  immediate  com- 
parison with  trees,  etc.,  the  size  of  which  we  know,  is 
not  correct,  because  it  is  not  in  accord  with  facts.  As 
already  pointed  out,  the  enlarged  size  is  a  reality  which  is 
photographed  by  the  Camera,  which  would  be  impossible 
if  it  were  a  supposition  of  our  own.  The  fact  is  that  the 
18 


274  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  ssc 

Bnlarflemcnte  ot  Sun,  /ftoon,  etc. 


Sun  and  Moon  are  larger  when  they  are  near  the  horizon 
than  when  they  are  higher  in  the  heavens,  whether  we 
know  the  reason  or  not.  The  most  ignorant  see  the  fact 
as  plainly  as  others. 

That  the  visible  size  depends  upon  the  state  of  the 
atmosphere  appears  from  the  fact,  that  the  Sun  and 
Moon,  near  the  horizon,  are  at  times  magnified  more 
than  at  other  times,  and  often  when  seen  higher  in  the 
heavens,  through  a  mist,  they  are  enlarged  there  also. 
The  same  thing  appears  from  the  enlarged  size  of  other 
objects  seen  through  the  mist.  Men  are  sometimes  thus 
magnified  into  colossal  proportions,  especially  amid 
mountain  scenery. 

3.  The  enlargement  of  men  and  other  objects  seen 
through  a  mist  is  no  illusion.  Somewhat  similar  to  this 
are  the  Aerial  Images  of  objects  greatly  increased  in  size, 
as  the  "Spectre  of  Brocken."  ''Of  this  the  peasants  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Hartz  Mountains  formerly  stood 
in  awe.  It  is  the  figure  of  a  man  observed  to  walk  the 
clouds  over  the  ridge  at  sunrise.  The  apparition  has 
been  resolved  into  an  exaggerated  reflection,  which 
makes  the  traveller's  shadow  pictured  upon  the  clouds, 
appear  a  colossal  figure  of  immense  dimensions." 
Such  Aerial  Images  are  no  illusions.  They  are  true 
phenomena  depicted  on  the  Retina,  and  on  the  plate  of 
the  Camera.  An  illusion  cannot  be  photographed.  The 
photograph  is  proof  of  reality.  These  phenomena  are 
one  of  the  real,  attractive,  visible,  wonders  of  the  world. 

4.  Mock  Suns,  or  Parhelia.  Here  again  we  have  real 
phenomena  of  which,  as  depicted  on  the  Retina,  we  have 
accurate  and  true  perception. 

5.  Paintings,  and  Mirror  Reflections  are  no  decep- 
tions, These  are  objective  realities  and  we  see  them  as 
they  truly  are.  Here,  again,  the  reliable  Camera  gives 
the  proof.     Paintings  and  Reflections  are  upon  both  the 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  275 

TRleing  anD  Setting  of  Sun  anJ>  /Iboon 


photographic  plate   and   the   Retina  in  their  real  char- 
acter.    See  also  under  Class  H,  No.  4. 

6.  Motion  of  objects  seen  through  the  window  of  a 
moving  car.  This  is  often  mentioned  as  a  most  decided 
deception.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  case,  as  far  as  true 
perception  is  concerned.  All  motion  is  relative.  The 
car  and  the  objects  seen  from  the  window  are  moving 
past  one  another ;  it  matters  not  how  the  motion  is  pro- 
duced. The  effect  is  the  same  whether  the  car  is  in 
motion  or  the  objects,  or  both.  It  is  the  motion  of  these 
past  one  another  that  is  placed  on  the  Retina  and  there 
correctly  cognized.  Which  is  the  moving  one  is  not 
depicted,  unless  an  additional  object  is  given  on  the 
Retina,  which  being  known  to  be  stationary,  shows  the 
motion  of  the  car  in  reference  to  it. 

7.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  old  form  of  ''Pano- 
rama Exhibition."  The  whole  darkened  room  filled  with 
the  spectators  seemed  to  be  moving  past  the  unbroken 
line  of  scenery.  It  was  the  illuminated  painting  which 
moved,  unrolling  from  one  roller  and  winding  up  on 
another,  both  hidden  from  view.  The  real  motion  of 
scenery  and  room  past  one  another  was  correctly  per- 
ceived. 

The  Rising  and  Setting  of  Sun  and  Moon  and  of  the 
Constellations,  and  the  motion  of  the  "Great  Bear,"  as 
it  swings  diurnally  around  the  pole.  These  are  true 
phenomena  correctly  perceived ;  great  and  attractive 
characteristics  of  the  heavens. 

The  rising  and  the  setting  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  are 
as  true  now  as  they  ever  were,  or  were  supposed  to  be; 
and  the  expression  is  literally  correct  and  appropriate. 
The  correctness  has  not  been  impaired  by  scientific  dis- 
covery. The  scientific  and  popular  sentiments  are 
equally  true.  As  a  real  fact  the  Sun  and  Moon  arise, 
as  we  stand  looking  southward,  on  our  left  hand  behind 


276  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sbc. 

"Kinetoscope 


certain  trees  and  houses  on  the  eastern  horizon,  advance 
higher  till  overhead  at  Noon,  and  then  descend  till  they 
sink  on  our  right  hand  behind  other  trees  and  houses  on 
the  western  horizon,  All  this  is  correctly  seen.  Scien- 
tists still  speak  of  the  rising,  southing  and  setting  of  Sun 
and  Moon  and  tell  the  hour,  minute,  second  and  half 
second  when  these  occur,  for  every  day  throughout  the 
year.  That  which  we  correctly  see  and  which  is  accu- 
rately calculated  by  astronomers  is  the  movement  of 
these  bodies  and  the  surface  of  the  earth  past  one 
another.  The  effect  is  the  same  by  whatever  mechanical 
arrangement  and  forces  it  may  be  produced. 

8.  The  glowing  end  of  a  match,  or  the  spark  at  the 
end  of  a  slowly  burning  string  forming  a  circle,  or  other 
figures  by  rapid  movement.  The  circle,  or  other  figures, 
thus  formed  is  an  objective  reality.  By  reason  of  the  re- 
tention of  light  upon  the  Retina,  these  figures  are 
actually  depicted  on  it  and  truly  cognized  as  they 
actually  are.  The  bright  color,  thrown  on  the  Retina 
by  the  moving  spark,  remains  on  each  successive  place 
till  the  spark  returns  and  renews  it,  thus  forming  an  un- 
broken line  of  color.  The  same  figures,  thrown  on  the 
sensitive  plate  of  the  Camera,  are  there  with  proper  time 
exposure  photographed. 

9.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  Kinetoscope  and 
similar  instruments  with  moving  figures.  The  pictures 
and  the  motions  are  on  the  Retina  and  we  perceive  them 
truly. 

10.  Stereoscopic  Pictures.  The  Stereoscope  throws 
the  same  pictures  on  the  Retina  that  real  objects  would 
throw  on  it,  and  in  so  far  as  this  is  the  case  the  percep- 
tion, which  is  that  of  the  pictures  on  the  Retina,  is 
equally  true  in  both  cases.  How  the  pictures  are  pro- 
duced is  another  question  determined  in  various  ways. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  distant  external  object,  which 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  277 

Colors;  ©ptlcal  Effects 


we  see,  is  a  double  perspective  photograph ;  one  picture 
is  seen  with  one  eye  and  the  other  with  the  other  eye. 
Our  vision  of  these  two  is  single  so  far  as  the  photo- 
graphs are  the  same  and  double  where  they  dififer.  We 
see  the  bold  relief,  because  this  is  iit  the  double  perspec- 
tive photograph,  as  long  distances,  vistas  and  reliefs  are 
in  perspective  paintings  and  iti  Nature.  In  all  these 
cases  the  vision  is  equally  true.  In  the  Stereoscope  the 
perspective  is  so  subtile  that  the  photograph  seizes  it 
where  the  artist  fails. 

11.  Color  Blindness.  There  is  no  deceptive  perception 
where  this  prevails.  Owing  to  various  circumstances, 
the  different  colors  are  not,  as  a  fact,  thrown  on  the 
Retina  and  consequently  they  are  not  perceived. 

12.  The  Color  of  a  landscape  looked  at  through 
colored  glasses,  as  red,  or  yellow,  which  make  all  things 
of  these  colors.  The  simple  fact  is  that  the  light,  which 
enters  the  eye  and  falls  upon  the  Retina,  has  these  colors 
which  are  correctly  seen. 

13.  The  Vivid  Changes  of  Complementary  Colors, 
seen  after  the  eyes  are  shut.  This  is  an  objective  reality 
on  the  Retina.  These  colors  are  there  and  are  truly 
perceived  thereon.  The  light,  containing  within  itself  all 
colors,  has  entered  the  eye  and  remains  there  with  this 
exhibition  of  its  changing  phenomena. 

14.  Defects  of  Vision  corrected  by  eye-glasses.  These 
defects  themselves  are  real  and  are  depicted  and  cognize^ 
on  the  Retina.  The  corrected  vision  is  also  real,  because 
by  the  means  of  eye-glasses,  the  corrected  picture  is 
thrown  on  the  Retina  and  there  perceived. 

15.  All  kinds  of  Optical  Effects  produced  by  Nature, 
or  artificially.  Of  the  former  we  have,  as  already  noticed, 
the  magnifying  of  objects  seen  through  mists;  aerial 
images ;  the  increased  and  diminished  size  of  objects  as 
they  are  held  near  to,  or  further  away  from  the  eye.     These 


278  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  skc. 

Sun  anJ)  /Iftoon  below  "^10113011 


are  true  phenomena  depicted  on  the  Retina  and  photo- 
graphed by  the  Camera.  Of  the  latter,  we  have  effects 
produced  by  the  Kaleidoscope  ;  by  "  Fire-Works  ;  "  the 
appearing  of  Ghosts  in  the  theatrical  scenes,  and  all  forms 
of  theatrical  scenery ;  the  effects  produced  by  magnifying 
glasses.  All  these  are  distant  objective  realities  thrown 
on  the  Retina  and  there  truly  perceived.  It  matters  not 
how  the  things,  the  phenomena,  the  effects  are  formed,  or 
produced.  These  are  all  also  photographed  and  thus 
proved  to  be  real. 

16.  Binocular  Vision.  We  have  already  explained 
this,  showing  that  whether  the  Vision  be  single,  or 
double,  the  perception  is  true. 

17.  Double  Vision  of  the  same  object.  For  example, 
as  in  the  experiment,  which  we  have  mentioned,  the 
little  finger  seen  on  both  sides  of  a  distant  object,  as  a 
Vase  beyond  it,  to  which  we  direct  our  eyes.  As  already 
pointed  out,  in  this  case  the  pictures  on  the  two  Retinae 
differ  from  one  another  as  to  the  position  of  the  finger. 
Both  are  correctly  cognized.  If  we  did  not  perceive  this 
difference,  our  perception  would  be  at  fault. 

18.  The  Sun  and  Moon  visible  when  below  the  horizon, 
and  Stars  still  visible  although  they  may  be  extinct. 
These  are  real  phenomena,  as  proved  by  the  photo- 
graphic Camera.  In  the  former  case,  the  refraction  of 
the  atmosphere  brings  the  light  from  the  Sun  and  Moon 
and  pictures-  them  on  the  Retina,  where  they  are  truly 
seen.  These  distant,  visible,  objective  realities,  the  Sun 
and  the  Moon,  as  truly  enter  the  eye  and  are  there  seen, 
as  when  they  are  both  above  the  horizon.  In  the  latter 
case,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out,  the  light  which  left 
the  stars  ages  ago  is  still  a  real,  objective  being,  still 
moving  onward  and  entering  the  eye,  as  truly  as  though 
the  stars  had  not  gone  out.  We  see  that  which  is.  The 
Camera  photographs   such   stars,   and   the   astronomers 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  279 

2)lstortcD  "ffmages 


put  them  on  their  maps,  in  their  true  places  in  the  con- 
stellations. 

19.  The  Dancing  of  a  Spot  of  Light  over  walls  and 
ceiling,  produced  by  a  small  mirror  in  the  hand.  This  is 
also  an  objective  reality  depicted  on  the  Retina  and 
cognized  in  its  real  character. 

20.  Imperfect  and  Distorted  Pictures  on  the  Retina. 
Even  these  are  no  deceptive  Perceptions.  They  may 
arise  from  that  which  is  beyond  the  eye.  When  we 
look  through  very  inferior  window-glass,  all  figures 
seen  may  be  distorted  into  most  misshapen  char- 
acters; and  our  faces,  reflected  in  a  poor  mirror,  may  be 
distorted  in  like  manner.  These  are  phenomena,  or 
effects  produced,  and  as  such  are  depicted  on  the 
Retina,  and  there  seen  in  their  ill-shaped  forms.  If 
these  things  were  not  correctly  seen  by  us,  we  would  be 
ignorant  of  some  of  the  interesting  and  important  quali- 
ties and  activities  of  the  material  world. 

They  may  also  be  due  to  some  kind  of  trouble,  or 
activity  within  the  eye  itself,  but,  again,  the  real  picture 
upon  the  Retina  is  correctly  seen,  whatever  be  its  char- 
acter and  however  it  may  be  produced.  If  we  did  not 
see  this,  we  would  be  ignorant  of  this  characteristic,  or 
activity  of  our  bodily  frame. 

21.  Light  produced  by  Pressure  of  the  finger  upon 
the  Eye-Ball,  seen,  as  has  been  said,  like  the  end  of  a 
peacock's  feather;  from  a  Blow  on  the  Head;  and  from 
excitation  of  the  Optic  Nerve  in  various  ways.  There 
are  no  deceptions  in  these.  The  Light  is  produced  and 
we  truly  perceive  it. 

These  things  are  not  imaginary,  nor  subjective.  They 
are  real  material  phenomeiia  which  we  cognize.  In 
speaking  of  Sensations,  we  noted  that  Light  is  produced 
in  a  great  variety  of  ways.  In  one,  or  more  of  these 
ways  it  may  readily  be  produced  within  the  organism ; 


28o  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

■fflT.  Class   apparent  SJeccptions 


and  as  the  eye  may  be,  as  some  suppose  it  is,  in  a 
measure  self-luminous,  or  absorbs  and  retains  light  as 
luminous  paint  does,  the  phenomena  of  light  arising 
from  pressure,  or  nerve  excitation  may  also  be  thus 
explained. 

22,  Particles  seen  floating  before  the  eye.  These  are 
true  phenomena  within  the  Eye  itself,  due  to  certain 
abnormal  conditions,  and  are  correctly  seen. 

II.  Class.  The  Second  Class  of  apparent  Deceptions 
of  Perception  embraces  all  forms  of  Misinterpretations 
of  that  which  is  correctly  perceived. 

A  few  instances  of  these,  with  their  explanations,  will 
suffice  to  show  that  there  is  no  deception  in  the  Percep- 
tion itself. 

1.  Mistakes  in  judging  of  measured  Distances.  These 
are  entirely  due  to  comparison  and  judgment.  We  see 
the  distance  of  two  objects  from  one  another  and  from 
ourselves,  and  comparing  it  with  some  standard,  which 
we  have  in  mind,  we  judge,  or  guess,  that  it  is  so  many 
feet,  or  miles.  Sometimes,  from  peculiar  circumstances 
and  from  our  inexperience  in  regard  to  them,  we  find  it 
very  difficult  to  form  a  judgmejtt.  Thus  a  large  moun- 
tain, rising  abruptly  from  the  shore  of  an  expanse  of 
water  between  it  and  us,  seems  close  at  hand ;  we  simply 
cannot  judge  rightly  from  what  we  correctly  see. 

We  may  think,  that  is  judge,  the  stars  to  be  very  near, 
at  least  much  nearer  than  they  really  are,  but  this  is 
because  we  have  no  standard  with  which  to  compare 
their  great  distances;  and,  moreover,  we  do  not  see  the 
distance  of  an  object  when  we  look  directly  at  it,  as  we 
look  at  a  star,  but  only  when  it  is  seen  perspectively. 
Astronomers  measure  the  star's  distance  by  the  parallax 
which  it  presents. 

2.  Mistakes  as  to  the  size  of  objects.  Here,  again, 
there  is  simply  failure  to  compare  and  judge  correctly, 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  281 

Misinterpretations 


from  what  we  correctly  see.  Some  individuals  may 
judge  better  than  others,  and  we  may  improve  by 
practice. 

3.  When  out  of  sight  of  land  at  sea,  the  landsman 
may  readily  mistake  low-lying  clouds  along  the  horizon 
as  the  shore  of  some  country,  He  sees  correctly,  but 
makes  a  wrong  inference.  He  and  the  seaman  see  alike, 
but  the  seaman's  interpretation  of  the  thing  seen  is 
different. 

4.  Sometimes  Paintings,  Statuary,  Wax-figures  of 
life-size,  Reflections  in  Mirrors  are  mistaken  in  regard 
to  their  real  character.  The  perceptions  are  correct; 
the  mistakes  are  in  the  inferences  which  are  made. 
When  we  discover  and  correct  the  mistake  which  we 
made,  our  perceptions  remain  precisely  as  they  were 
before. 

5.  The  motion  of  objects  seen  from  a  moving  car 
window.  The  misapprehension  is  due  to  the  supposi- 
tio7t,  which  we  make  from  the  motion  of  the  objects  and 
the  car-window  past  one  another  which  is  correctly  per- 
ceived, as  to  the  cause  of  the  motion.  It  is  only  the 
supposition,  which  is  wrong. 

6.  Sometimes  a  Coin,  or  similar  object  will  appear  as 
Intaglio.  I  have,  in  like  manner,  looked  at  ornamental 
frescoes,  in  shades  of  the  same  color,  and  even  at  certain 
drawings  and  have  seen  the  reliefs  as  intaglios  of  them 
reversed;  and  suddenly  they  assume  again  the  characters 
intended.  In  this  instance,  the  appearance  is  due  to  the 
way  in  which  I  interpreted  that  which  I  saw.  The  for- 
mer instance  is  explained  in  the  same  way. 

7.  Things  mistaken  for  other  things.  In  such  cases 
we  misinterpret  our  perceptions.  Instances  are  given 
above  in  numbers  3-4-6.  These  mistakes  are  very 
numerous.  Another  instance  is  found  in  the  familiar 
one  of  "The  Mirage  of  the  sandy  Desert."     There  are 


282  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

•ff-ff f ,  Class.    3f allure  in  mottclng 


certain  scintillations  of  the  distant,  heated  atmosphere 
and  certain  appearances  of  ground  and  sky,  which  are 
misinterpreted  by  the  exhausted  traveller  as  fertile  places 
amid  the  waste.  Sometimes  one  person  is  mistaken  for 
another;  and,  by  assumed  disguises  and  acting  the 
identity  of  a  person  may  be  hidden  and  a  different 
individual  successfully  personified.  But  this  is  no  error 
in  the  perception ;  it  is  all  in  the  interpretation. 

III.  Class.  A  Third  Class  of  Mistakes  includes  those, 
which  are  due  to  failure  in  noticmg  the  things  perceived. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  individuals  in  regard  to 
their  observation  of  that  which  is  presented  to  their 
vision.  Some  are  very  careful,  accurate,  complete,  intel- 
ligent, reliable  observers;  and  others  are  very  inatten- 
tive, stupid,  unreliable.  Mistakes  often  occur  from 
inattention,  carelessness,  forgetfulness,  confusion,  from 
want  of  alertness  and  quickness  of  seeing,  from  failure 
to  understand  the  relation  and  meaning  of  things.  In- 
numerable instances  might  be  given  of  this. 

For  example.  Feats  of  Legerdemain,  or  of  the  Presti- 
digitateur.  These  are  as  marvellous,  as  they  are  fas- 
cinating. They  are  all  due,  however,  to  the  wonderful 
skill  of  the  performer,  in  directing  and  controlling  atten- 
tion and  expectation,  and  to  the  rapidity  of  his  opera- 
tions. He  acts  too  quickly  for  us  to  see  and  notice. 
The  reliable  Camera  is  more  quick  of  action  than  our 
vision,  and  has  on  this  account  been  used  to  reveal 
"feats,"  which  could  not  be  detected  by  the  eye.  It  is 
reported  that  Herman,  or  some  other  noted  Presti- 
digitateur,  when  on  a  visit  to  India,  used  the  instanta- 
neous action  of  the  Camera  to  detect  the  feat  of  the 
Hindu  Fakir  which  he  had  twice  failed  to  discover.  A 
child  was  made  to  climb  a  pole  and  disappear  at  the  top. 
The  photograph  revealed  the  fact  that  the  child  did  not 
climb  at  all.     He  was  quickly  spirited  away,  just  as  he 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  283 

prestiOiflitatcur  "ffE.  Clase 


was  about  to  climb.  The  "  climbing  "  was  due  to  some 
kind  of  hypnotism  over  the  spectators ;  in  some  way 
their  attention,  imagination  and  expectation  were  so 
wrought  upon  that  they  supposed  they  saw  that,  which 
they  did  not  see.  There  are  two  things  to  be  noted 
here.  In  the  first  place,  there  was  no  deceptive  percep- 
tion ;  for  we  cannot  see  that,  which  did  not  take  place. 
All  that  which  was  seen  was  perceived  correctly.  In  the 
second  place,  had  the  spectators  possessed  the  same 
rapidity  of  observing  that  the  Camera  had,  they  might 
have  discovered  the  nature  of  the  "feat"  by  their  own 
eyes ;  unless,  perhaps,  they  might  still  have  failed  from 
the  want  of  proper,  unprejudiced  attention. 

IV.  Class.  A  Fourth  Class  of  Mistakes  includes  those, 
which  arise  from  Imagination  and  Dominant  Ideas.  We 
remember  that,  which  we  have  seen  and  by  Imagination 
we  reproduce  it  before  the  mind.  By  some  individuals 
this  is  done  with  exceeding  vividness,  so  that  it  is  almost 
as  vivid  as  the  original  perceptions.  When  this  imag- 
ination is  conjoined  with  a  dominant  Idea  of  the  same 
thing,  the  effect  is  of  a  most  decidedly  realistic  character. 
Some  distinguished  Novelists  have  had,  it  is  said,  such 
power  of  this  kind,  that  they  have  seemed  to  themselves 
to  have  lived  with  the  characters  and  amid  the  scenes  of 
their  own  creation.  In  the  every-day  life  of  all  men,  this 
effect  of  vivid  imagination  and  of  dominant  ideas  is  of 
common  occurrence  to  a  greater,  or  less  degree.  But 
all  this  casts  no  reflection  upon  the  reliability  of  our 
Perceptions. 

We  have  the  power  of  discriminating  between  the 
operations  and  activities  of  our  minds;  and  if  we  mis- 
take, at  times,  one  of  these  for  another,  as,  for  example, 
imagination  for  perception,  it  is  because  of  our  failure  in 
observing  and  in  making  the  proper  discrimination, 
there    is    inattention    and     carelessness    on    our    part. 


284  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

2)om(nant  ll&eas  \D.  Class 


Sometimes  also  the  glance  which  we  have  is  so  rapid 
and  brief,  that  we  are  unable  to  tell  what  we  saw,  and 
imagination  instantly  creates  something  out  of  the  very 
imperfect  data  afiforded  by  the  glance,  and  we  suppose 
that,  this  is  the  thing  which  appeared  to  us;  the  mis- 
take, however,  was  not  in  the  perception.  The  char- 
acter of  the  supposition  is  often  determined  by  some 
dominant  idea,  or  some  expectation.  Thus  we  may  be 
watching  for  something,  when  upon  an  imperfect 
glance,  brief  and  rapid,  at  something  else,  we  suppose, 
or  take  it  for  granted  that  we  saw  that  for  which  we  are 
looking.  When  we  have  a  fear  of  something,  a  brief 
glance  at  some  different  object  leads  us  to  suppose  that 
it  is  the  thing,  which  we  feared. 

In  the  feat  of  the  Hindu  Fakir,  mentioned  above,  the 
operation  is  so  brief  and  rapid,  and  the  vision,  correct  in 
itself,  so  inadequate,  that  there  is  abundant  room  for  the 
vivid  play  of  imagination  and  of  eager  expectation  in  a 
moment  of  intense,  excited,  all  engrossing,  rapt  atten- 
tion under  the  sway  of  the  personal  influence  of  the 
practised  performer. 

V.  Class.  Mistakes  which  are  from  Abnormal  Condi- 
tions of  the  Soul  and  Body. 

These  are  well  known  and  are  sometimes  of  the  most 
striking  and  fearful  character.  Such  are  the  illusions, 
delusions  and  visions  of  mental  and  bodily  disease,  and 
of  impassioned  and  highly  ecstatic  exaltations  of  the 
Soul,  Examples  of  these  are  well  known,  such  as  the 
delirium  of  fever;  the  horrid  fantasies  of  "delirium 
tremens;"  the  hallucinations  of  insanity;  the  rhapsodies 
of  over-wrought  love ;  the  false  views  of  uncontrolled, 
impassioned  anger;  the  glories  seen  by  saints  in  highly 
wrought-up,  religious  fervor  and  as,  upon  the  border  of 
the  other  world,  they  seem  to  look  upon  its  realities. 

All  these,  however,  have  no  direct  bearing  upon  the 


Ill  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  285 

dfrom  Abnormal  ConMtions 


Infallibility  of  our  normal  perceptions.  With  them,  in- 
deed, we  have  no  present  and  direct  concern.  Our 
whole  present  study  is  of  our  perceptions  in  their  nor- 
mal activity.  We  are  dealing  only  with  ''Mens  sana  in 
copore  sanor  It  is  another  question  how  far  and  in 
what  way  disease  and  exalted  states  may  pervert  our 
ordinary  faculties  and  activities.  Moreover,  if  the  Soul 
have  some  unknown,  superior  power  of  vision  by  which 
it  sees,  under  certain  conditions,  things  invisible  to 
ordinary  sight,  these  strange  visions  are  so  far  true. 
According  to  our  present,  reliable  knowledge,  however, 
these  illusions  are  properly  so  designated.  They  are 
illusions,  not  perceptions.  They  are  the  activities  of 
other  departments  of  our  being. 

In  this  is  the  explanation  of  the  difficulties  which  they 
seem  to  present,  because  of  their  resemblance  to  percep- 
tions and  because  they  seem  to  be  mistaken  for  them. 
The  prevailing,  abnormal  condition  of  the  Soul  and  Body 
prevent  the  individual  from  noting  their  true  character, 
and  from  placing  them  aright  among  the  operations  of 
the  Soul.  With  the  attention  and  interest  of  the  Soul 
otherwise  thoroughly  absorbed,  the  true  nature  and 
place  of  these  activities  are  altogether  disregarded. 

Many  other  illustrations  might  be  given,  but,  numer- 
ous and  varied  as  are  the  apparent  deceptions  of  Per- 
ception, they  may  all,  doubtless,  be  included  within  the 
five  Classes  which  we  have  presented.  From  the  expla- 
nations, which  we  have  given  of  the  instances  named,  it 
is  perfectly  evident  that  there  are  no  real  deceptions 
whatever,  and  that  our  Perceptions  are  to  be  relied 
upon  as  Infallibly  True. 

Scientific  Sight. 

Scientific  Sight  does  not  differ  radically  from  ordinary 
perception.     It    is   superior    only   in    that    perception    is 


286  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  s«c. 

Scientffic  Disfon 


used  to  the  fullest  advantage  and  in  that  there  is  intensity 
of  intellectual  activity.  By  Scientific  Vision  we  see  that, 
which  is  usually  unnoticed  and  disregarded.  Instead  of 
simply  seeing  things,  we  see  their  relations  to  one 
another ;  we  see  that  they  are  bound  together  as  causes 
and  efifects ;  we  notice  the  order,  the  uniformity  and 
variation  of  their  coming  and  going  phenomena,  reveal- 
ing the  laws  of  their  operations ;  we  observe  and  distin- 
guish between  the  varied  forces,  everywhere  prevailing ; 
by  instruments,  such  as  the  telescope  and  microscope 
and  the  whole  array  of  philosophical  apparatus,  and  by 
the  whole  course  and  manner  of  scientific  investigation, 
experiment  and  manipulation  we  discover  vast  stores  of 
truths,  previously  entirely  hidden  from  view. 

This  Scientific  Vision  is  of  the  utmost  importance ; 
for  it  is  the  source  of  all  our  higher  knowledge  of  the 
world  which  lifts  man  above  the  animal  creation  and 
each  succeeding  age  above  those  which  have  gone  before. 

But  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  sure  foundation  of  all 
this  knowledge  is  the  hifallible  Perception  of  Objective 
Realities  which  is  common  to  all  7nen  and  which  animals 
possess  equally  with  ourselves  and  often  in  a  superior 
degree.  The  Scientist  with  all  his  instruments  and  ap- 
pliances is  utterly  helpless  without  ordinary  eye-sight, 
upon  which  he  falls  back  and  upon  which  he  does  and 
must  implicitly  rely. 

We  have  thus  entered  into  detail  in  our  consideration 
of  Perception  by  Sight,  because  of  the  peculiar  advan- 
tages which  it  presents  for  our  purpose.  By  it  we  have 
been  able  to  give  abundant  unfolding  and  illustration  of 
the  true  nature  of  External  Perception  and  to  explain 
and  remove  difficulties ;  difficulties  which  are  more 
numerous  and  greater  than  those  which  are  presented 
by  our  other  perceptions.  With  Perception  by  Vision 
well  understood  all  else  is  plain.     It  has  thus  been  estab- 


in  THE  ORGAN  OF  SIGHT  287 

XLbe  JEar— tTbc  Objective  IRcalit^  SounD 


lished,  that  External  Perception  is  the  Immediate  Infal- 
lible Cognition  of  Objective  Realities  which  are  present 
to  the  Soul  because  presented  to  it  by  the  wonderfully 
constructed,  extremely  delicate  bodily  organs.  Material 
themselves,  they  present  material  realities.  Having  dwelt 
upon  the  Eye  with  fulness  of  illustration,  there  is  no 
need  of  more  than  a  brief  mention  of  the  other  organs. 

Section  IV     The  Other  Organs 

The  Ear  is  a  most  wonderful  and  delicate  construc- 
tion. It  receives  the  objective  Reality,  ''Sound,''  which 
comes  to  it  from  a  greater,  or  less  distance.  The  Sound 
enters  the  Ear  as  the  Light  enters  the  Eye  and  is  there 
cognized  as  is  the  picture  on  the  Retina.  We  hear  the 
Distant  Sound,  but  not  till  it  enters  the  ear.  The 
Sounds,  which  come  to  the  Ear  and  are  there  presented 
to  the  Soul,  are  of  endless  variety  and  come  from  differ- 
ent directions  and  from  various  distances.  The  percep- 
tion of  these  sounds  as  they  are  within  the  Ear  is  in- 
fallibly correct.  The  apparent  deceptions  are  of  the 
same  character  as  are  those  of  Vision  and  are  due  to 
corresponding  causes. 

I.  Class.  Real  Objective  Phenomena  which  are  some- 
times regarded  as  illusions.  For  example,  noises  within 
the  organism.  These  are  not  subjective,  but  real  and  as 
such  correctly  perceived.  All  imitations  of  Sounds, 
those  by  the  Mocking  Bird,  by  the  human  Voice,  and 
various  kinds  of  instruments.  These  also  are,  objective 
realities  brought  to  the  Ear  and  correctly  heard.  Re- 
flected Sounds ;  these  are  reflected  by  something,  acting 
like  a  sounding-board  and  their  direction  is  changed,  but 
our  perception  is  correct;  for  we  hear  the  sounds  as 
they  are  when  they  enter  the  ear.  An  example  of  this 
is  found  in  the  Echo.  We  correctly  hear  our  voice  as  it 
goes  from  us  and  returns  to  us  again. 


288  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

IbeadnflsBpparent  Deceptions 


II.  Class.  Misinterpretations.  We  hear  the  sounds 
correctly  but  misinterpret  their  direction,  and  their 
meaning.  Thus  some  tones  of  the  organ  may  be  re- 
garded, as  distant  thunder.  The  notes  of  Birds,  arti- 
ficially produced,  may  be  regarded,  as  coming  from  liv- 
ing Birds.     In  all  cases  the  heai'ing  is  true. 

III.  Class.  Mistakes  from  Imagination  and  Dominant 
Ideas.  From  confused,  very  brief  and  low  sounds  we 
build  something  definite  from  Imagination  and  because 
of  some  dominant  Idea  in  the  mind.  We  may  be  listen- 
ing for  and  expecting  the  voice  of  a  friend  and  think  we 
hear  it  when  some  indistinct  sounds  come  to  us.  We 
may,  in  night,  be  very  timid  and  every  noise  is  imagined 
as  evil.  The  hearing  itself  is  correct.  A  striking 
instance  of  illusions  due  to  imagination  and  dominant 
ideas  is  found  in  Ventriloquism.  The  performer  so 
works  upon  the  imagination,  so  instills  ideas,  and  so 
conceals  indications  of  his  speaking,  that  he  leads  his 
hearers  and  spectators  to  imagine  that  the  words  and 
sounds  come  from  a  direction  and  distance,  and  are  of  a 
different  character  than  is  actually  the  fact.  But  the 
hearing  itself  is  correct.  Our  attention,  as  directed,  is 
so  much  occupied,  that  we  fail  to  distinguish  between 
imagination  and  perception. 

IV.  Class.  Mistakes  due  to  Inattention  and  Careless- 
ness cannot  be  adduced  to  prove  that  our  hearing  is 
wrong. 

V.  Class.  Mistakes  due  to  Abnormal  States  of  Soul 
and  Body.  These  belong  to  other  departments  and 
activities  of  our  being  and  are  not  perceptions ;  though 
they  may  be  supposed  to  be  such,  because  the  Soul  is 
too  much  engaged  by  its  abnormal  condition  to  notice 
their  true  character.  If  in  high  ecstatic  states  and  when 
near  to  death  individuals  hear  voices,  etc.,  as  it  is  said 
they   do,    it    must    be    because    the    Soul    has    unknown 


IV  THE  OTHER  ORGANS  289 

perfume,  flavor,  a:oucb  ©bjectlve 


power  of  perception  by  which  they  hear  that  which  is 
ordinarily  inaudible.  However,  as  we  said  in  regard  to 
Vision,  so  far  as  our  present  knowledge  goes  such  things 
are  not  perceptions,  but  illusions  due  to  confusion  arising 
from  abnormal  states  of  Soul  and  Body. 

So  also  the  Organs,  by  which  we  perceive  Perfumes, 
and  Flavors,  present  to  the  Soul  external  Realities 
which  it  cognizes  aright.  The  things  thus  perceived 
may  be  produced  within  the  organism,  or  brought  to 
their  organs  from  a  distance,  but  in  both  cases  equally 
they  are  material  realities.  Thus  the  sweetness  of  the 
Rose  and  of  other  far-off  flowers  comes,  or  is  borne  to 
us,  and  when  it  reaches  us  we  perceive  it.  None  of  the 
Mistakes  of  perfumes  and  flavors,  are  in  our  perceptions, 
but  are  due  to  the  causes  already  mentioned  in  regard  to 
sight  and  hearing. 

Touch.  The  Perceptions  which  we  have  by  the  won- 
derfully delicate  organs  of  Touch  are  of  precisely  the 
same  character.  They  are  immediate  cognitions  by  the 
omnipresent  Soul  of  objects  presented  to  us  by  "hand- 
ling" and  are  infallibly  correct.  The  word  "handling" 
is  used  in  the  widest,  and  even  figurative  meaning 
including  every  "touch."  We  perceive  distant  objects 
only  by  reaching  forth  our  fingers,  hands  and  arms,  and 
by  walking  to  them,  unless  in  some  way  they  come  or 
are  brought  to  us. 

All  Mistakes  arise  from  misinterpretations,  inattention, 
imagination,  dominant  ideas,  abnormal  states,  etc.,  not 
at  all  from  perceptions. 

It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  regard  to  all  the  Organs 
of  Perception,  that,  though  we  have  placed  the  various 
mistakes  in  different  classes,  any  given  one  may  be  due 
to  several,  and,  possibly,  to  all  the  causes  mentioned 
combined. 

As  there  is  what  we  have  called  Scientific  Vision,  so 
19 


290  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sic. 

Scicntffic  perception 


there  is  also  Scientific  Perception  by  all  the  Organs. 
Thus — 

Scientific  Perception 

This  includes  all  the  higher  insight  into  the  things  per- 
ceived, due  to  using  our  powers  to  the  best  advantage 
and  intelligently. 

It  also  includes  that  high  intellectual  use  of  our  organs 
of  Perception,  by  which  we  make  them  co-operate  with 
and  aid  one  another,  and  by  which  we  co-ordinate  all 
the  varied  knowledge  of  external  realities  thus  obtained, 
and  construct  therefrom  our  Conception  of  the  beautiful 
World,  "The  Cosmos,''  as  it  truly  is,  and  of  individual 
objects  and  groups  of  things  as  they  actually  are.  Man- 
kind have  not  been  and  cannot  be  deceived  in  their  con- 
ception of  the  world. 

The  Intelligent  Soul  in  the  exercise  of  its  spiritual 
powers  and  the  use  of  its  delicate  bodily  organs  of  per- 
ception apprehends  and  knows  the  realities  which  are 
and  as  they  are,  individually  and  grouped  and  combined 
as  one  world  of  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  Conception 
varies  greatly,  it  is  as  varied  as  are  individuals  among 
men  and  as  are  the  successive  stages  in  our  onward, 
moving  life.  But,  however  varied,  the  Conception  is 
always  true  to  the  reality  as  far  as  perceptio7i  is  con- 
cerned. Often  it  is  most  meagre  and  insignificant,  at 
other  times  most  exalted  and  soul-inspiring,  far-reaching 
in  extent  and  deeply  penetrating  into  the  inmost  mean- 
ing of  things.  The  great,  even  extreme,  variations  are 
due  to  the  character  and  activity  of  the  Soul.  There  are 
those  who  have  eyes  and  see  not,  ears  and  hear  not,  they 
have  hands  and  handle  not ;  there  are  those  who  with 
vast  stores  of  material  at  hand  for  constructions  of  mar- 
vellous character  build  not  thereof ;  all  is  left  unutilized, 
unconstructed,  confused.  While  there  are  those  who 
see  and  hear  and  handle  with  the  power  of  trained  and 


V  TRUE  NATURAL  REALISM  291 

3ftce  from  ITnconsfetencies 

cultivated  intelligence,  who  lay  hold  of  the  realities  pre- 
sented, and  from  the  wealth  of  material  gained  build  up 
with  the  skill  of  master  architects  a  Conception,  not  fan- 
tastic, unreal  and  of  their  own  creation,  but  the  veri- 
similitude of  the  world  according  to  the  pattern  showed 
to  them  by  Infallible  Perception ;  a  Conception  true  to  the 
great  reality,  yet  inadequate ;  there  are  wonders  un- 
dreampt  of  in  the  fulness  of  the  world  as  it  truly  is  and 
as  known  by  its  Maker. 

Section  V     True  Natural  Realism 

The  Exposition  which  we  have  given  of  External  Per- 
ception differs  in  a  most  radical  and  striking  manner 
from  those  generally  prevalent.  Our  doctrine  is  the 
"  Natural  Realism  "  of  Reid,  Stewart,  Hamilton,  McCosh, 
but  set  free  from  the  errors,  confusion,  inconsistencies, 
difficulties  and  impossibihties  which  are  found  in  their 
unfolding  and  exposition  of  it  and  which  in  reality 
destroy  it. 

Our  Presentation  throws  aside  entirely  ''Sense  Per- 
ception." It  confines  Sensation  to  our  Emotions,  that 
is  to  the  "Feelings  of  Pleasure  and  Pain;"  it  affirms 
according  to  the  plain  and  positive  Testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness that  Color,  Sound,  Perfume,  Flavor  and  that 
which  is  apprehended  by  Touch  are  objective,  material 
realities ,  it  denies  the  distinction  between  Primary  and 
Secondary  Qualities  of  Matter ;  it  affirms  that  the  bodily 
organs  of  Perception  present  to  the  Soul,  omnipresent 
within  the  body,  external  realities  which  are  by  it  imme- 
diately cognized  in  their  true  character.  It  discards  in 
its  explanation  all  reference  to  anything  of  a  mystic 
character,  as  "  By  the  appointment  of  Him  who  gave  us 
our  Constitution" — "The  Sanction  of  Him  who  made 
us," — "  Original  Convictions  " — "  Innate  Ideas,"  "  Native 
Beliefs."     It   accepts   and    deals   with   facts   in  a  purely 


292  V     EXTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sk. 

In  accorO  witb  mniversal  assurance 


scientific  manner.  It  recognizes  the  fact  that  the  Soul 
has  been  endowed  with  the  miraculous  power  of  stepping 
over  the  impassable  gulf  between  the  spiritual  and  the 
material  and  of  taking  direct  knowledge  of  material 
things  which  are.  With  this  indisputable  fact,  dis- 
tinctly apprehended  and  never  lost  sight  of,  it  presents 
"Intuitive  Perception"  without  admixture  with  any- 
thing else,  affirming  that  by  it  we  know  and  conceive  of 
the  Material  Cosmos  as  it  truly  is  in  all  its  attractive 
beauty  and  grandeur. 

To  overthrow  long  accepted  views  is  difficult  in  the 
extreme,  and  it  may  be  that  the  exposition  which  we 
give  will  meet  with  prejudice  against  it,  but  it  is  evident 
that  there  is  need  of  a  radical  improvement  in  the  pre- 
sentation of  Natural  Realism.  Dr.  McCosh  says,  "  We 
have  now  before  us  a  more  perplexing  subject,  the  idea 
and  conviction  which  we  have  in  regard  to  an  external 
world,  the  way  in  which  we  reach  these,  and  the  obje:- 
tive  reality  involved  in  them.  In  this  border  country 
there  has  been  a  war  for  ages  in  the  past,  and  there  is 
likely  to  be  a  war  for  ages  in  the  future.  *  *  *  I  cling 
to  the  conviction,  that  there  is  a  doctrine  of  natural 
realism  which,  if  we  could  only  seize  and  express  it,  will 
be  found  encompassed  with  fewer  difficulties  than  any 
far-fetched,  or  artificial  system." 

To  obtain  this  Doctrine,  it  is  only  necessary  to  pre- 
sent Natural  Realism  in  its  purity  and  fulness.  As  pre- 
sented by  us  it  is  perfectly  pure  and  simple ;  is  free  from 
inconsistencies ;  explains  difficulties  otherwise  inexplic- 
able ;  it  has  the  plain  and  positive  testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness and  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  universal 
assurance  of  men  which  they  cannot  overthrow;  it  is 
indeed  the  vindication  of  the  philosophy  of  "  Common 
Sense."  The  assurance  of  all  is  that  the  beautiful  world 
is  such  as  we  conceive  it  to  be,  an  assurance  which  is  the 


TRUE  NATURAL  REALISM  293 

©ur  Coflttltfon  of  tbe  Cosmos  XLvuc 


common  interpretation  of  the  unmistakable  Testimony 
of  Consciousness.  That  which  is  thus,  not  the  mystic, 
but  the  well-founded  belief  of  men  everywhere,  is  pre- 
cisely the  result  which  we  reach  by  the  scientific  inter- 
pretation of  the  same  Infallible  Testimony.  Our  Inter- 
pretation must  be  true,  as  it  is  the  same  with  that  given 
by  all  men.  We  teach  and  they  afBrm  that,  that  which 
we  have  heard,  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which 
we  have  looked  upon  and  our  hands  have  handled  is  the 
Cosmos  of  which  we  have  a  true  conception,  because  we 
take  knowledge  of  it  as  it  is  in  its  own  real  and  attractive 
characteristics. 

Hitherto  there  has  been  a  contradiction  between  Phi- 
losophy and  Common  Sense.  As  long  as  this  is  the  case 
the  former  must  be  at  fault.  For  Truth's  sake  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  they  be  in  accord.  This 
harmony  is  secured  by  the  new  Exposition  of  Natural 
Realism,  which  we  have  been  presenting.  By  it  the 
world  in  which  children  have  delighted,  of  which  poets 
have  sung,  which  painters  have  depicted,  which  has  filled 
the  minds  of  all  men  with  wondering  admiration  has 
been  deprived  of  none  of  its  tinted  glories,  of  none  of  its 
varied  loveliness,  but  is  held  up  before  us  in  the  fulness 
of  all  these  undimned  and  unimpaired,  as  real  and  true. 

Philosophy  and  Common  Sense  blend  together  as  One. 


Having  given  the  Exposition  of  External  Perception, 
the  next  step  is  the  consideration  of  Internal  Perception. 


CHAPTER    VI 

IFnternal  perception 

Section  I     Spiritual  Realities 

Internal  Perception  is  precisely  the  same  as  Ex- 
ternal. The  difference  is  in  the  things  perceived.  In 
the  latter  case,  these  are  material  realities,  in  the  former 
they  are  spiritual  realities,  or  the  things  of  the  inner 
world  of  self.  Theoretically  we  might,  possibly,  con- 
ceive of  the  Soul  as  endowed  with  the  power  of  perceiv- 
ing its  own  phenomena,  but  without  the  power  of  per- 
ceiving those  of  the  external  material  world.  As, 
however,  we  know  that  it  possesses  both  of  these,  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  draw  any  distinction  between  the 
two  powers  themselves.  They  are  one  and  the  same. 
All  that  can  be  said  is,  that  the  Soul  immediately  cog- 
nizes the  things  of  the  spiritual  and  of  the  material 
realms.  It  is  endowed  with  the  power  of  Intuition,  by 
which  it  looks  upon  the  things  which  are  present  to  it 
whatever  be  their  character. 

Internal  Perception  is  often  called  and  is  properly 
"  Self-Consciousness."  It  is  the  consciousness,  the  ''  In- 
tuition," the  cognition  of  the  things  of  Self.  Such  being 
its  character,  it  is  evidently  possessed  by  men  and 
animals  in  common.  Strange  to  say,  however,  it  is 
often  denied  to  animals.  Rightly  considered,  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  how  animals  can  be  without  "Self- 
Consciousness."  If  they  are  without  this  they  have  no 
Consciousness  whatever;  for  "external  perception" 
294 


SPIRITUAL  REALITIES  295 

SelfsConecfousnese  in  animals 


necessarily  includes  this.  Their  perception  of  material 
things  is  precisely  the  same  as  our  own  But  it  is 
absurd  to  suppose,  that  they  can  be  conscious  of  such 
things  and  yet  be  without  consciousness  of  the  things  of 
themselves ;  for  in  perceiving  material  things  there  is 
the  consciousness  of  the  difference  between  these  and 
one's  own  self.  We  have  the  best  of  reasons  for  alarm- 
ing that  animals  are  conscious  of  their  own  being,  their 
feelings,  emotions,  their  loves  and  hatreds,  their  wants, 
their  wishes,  their  efforts,  their  memory  of  persons, 
other  animals  and  things,  their  remembrance  of  former 
pains  and  pleasures.  The  evidence  which  we  have  of 
this  is  as  abundant  and  positive  as  that  which  we  have  of 
it  in  regard  to  ourselves.  Self-Consciousness  can  be 
denied  to  animals  only  by  giving  a  wrong  definition  to 
the  expression,  with  consequent  confusion  of  thought 
and  error.  This  would  be  the  case,  if  the  definition  be 
made  "  Reflection,  or  discursive  reasoning  upon  our 
spiritual  states  and  activities."  As  animals  do  not  do 
this,  unless  it  be  to  an  extremely  limited  degree,  they  may 
be  said  to  be  without  "  Self- Consciousness  "  in  this  sense 
of  the  term.  But  reflection  and  reasoning  are  something 
over  and  beyond  Consciousness,  and  this  use  of  the 
expression  should  be  carefully  avoided.  Were  it  correct, 
children  and  multitudes  of  men  and  women,  as  well  as 
animals,  would  be  without  self-consciousness  for,  at  least, 
a  greater  part  of  the  time  and  in  many  cases  throughout 
their  entire  life. 

In  popular  language  we  often  speak  of  one  who  is  full 
of  self-consciousness  in  public,  or  in  company,  and  of 
another  who  is  free  from  it,  the  reason  being  because  in 
the  former  case  consciousness  is  concentrated  on  self, 
and  in  the  latter  it  is  fixed  upon  others,  or  upon  some 
work  in  hand.  The  same  thing  prevails  in  animals, 
whose   consciousness  is  at  times  centred  upon   self,  as 


296  VI     INTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Common  ©pfnlon  Spiritual  "GlnrealitB 


when  basking  in  the  sun,  or  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
food,  and  at  other  times  concentrated  upon  something 
else,  as  when  all  alert  in  defence  of  endangered  young. 
Consciousness  is  strictly  "  Intuition,"  the  simple  looking 
upon  and  knowing  that  which  is  present.  This  cannot 
be  denied  to  animals,  whether  it  be  directed  to  material 
things,  or  to  self;  and  to  enlarge  the  meaning  of  the 
word,  so  as  to  include  "  Reflection,"  or  Reasoning 
within  it,  is  inconsistent  with  the  very  idea,  which  it  is 
intended  to  express. 

The  perversity  of  the  human  mind  is  very  remarkable, 
as  seen,  for  example,  in  the  persistence  with  which  men 
in  general  insist  that  the  material  world  is  the  real,  the 
assured,  the  substantial,  the  well  known,  while  the  spir- 
itual is  unreal,  uncertain,  unsubstantial,  unknown,  beyond 
our  reach.     The  reverse  of  this  is  undoubtedly  the  truth. 

The  Prime  Reality  for  us  and  the  foundation  for  all 
other  reality  is  "  our  own  spiritual  Being."  The  basic 
Truth  is  "I  am"  and  "I  continue  to  be  with  an  un- 
broken continuity  of  being."  It  is  only  by  knowing  our 
own  reality  of  being,  that  we  can  and  do  attribute  real 
being  to  the  material  world.  Without  the  Intuition  of 
our  own  being  we  would  not  know  what  it  is  "  to  be." 
Continuity  and  Identity  of  being  also  are  attributed  to 
material  things  only  because  we  first  know  them  as  be- 
longing to  our  own  spiritual  selves,  or  at  least  it  is  this, 
which  enables  us  to  understand  the  meaning  of  them 
when  we  cognize  them  in  material  things.  Our  prime 
conception  and  assurance  of  Real  Substance  and  the 
foundation  of  our  knowledge  of  all  substantial  being  is 
the  Intuitive  Cognition  of  our  own  spiritual  substance. 
Whatever  definition  may  be  given  of  Substance,  there  is 
that  which  we  know  as  substance.  We  are  ourselves 
real  substantial  beings.  Knowing  this,  we  are  enabled 
to  understand  substantial  being  when  we  perceive  it  in 


SPIRITUAL  REALITIES  297 

®ur  iprime  TRcalit^  tbe  Spiritual 


the  material  world,  which,  otherwise,  we  could  not  do. 
We  derive  our  knowledge  of  "  Power  "  from  the  Intui- 
tion of  our  own  spiritual  Power,  and  it  is  only  in  this 
way,  that  we  understand  "  force  "  in  material  objects. 

It  is  with  the  world  of  "Self"  that  we  chiefly  have  to 
do.  This  is  for  us  the  centre  of  all  things.  We  may 
imagine  the  material  world  to  be  destroyed,  but  that  we 
should  cease  to  be  is  unthinkable,  even  though  our  belief 
might  be  that  as  a  fact,  the  Soul  is  annihilated  by  death. 
The  Spiritual  World  is,  therefore,  to  us  the  Great  Reality. 
It  is  also  the  well  known  and  assured  world.  No  assurr 
ance  of  Reality  can  rise  higher  than  that  which  we  have 
of  our  own  spiritual  selves.  Even  the  most  thorough 
materialist  has  this  assurance,  for  he  is,  equally  with  all 
others,  assured  that  he  is  a  being  who  thinks,  feels  and 
wills,  but  this  is  to  be  a  "  spirit."  His  error  consists,  not 
in  denying  this  assurance,  but  in  confounding  the  spiritual 
with  the  material.  The  great  mystery  underlying  sub- 
stance, being,  power  we  cannot  possibly  penetrate,  but 
this  is  no  more  true  of  the  spiritual  world  than  it  is  of 
the  material.  The  latter  is  not  in  the  least  degree  better 
known  than  is  the  former ;  but  in  truth  our  knowledge 
of  the  spiritual  is  superior  to  that  which  we  have  of  the 
material. 

As  already  mentioned,  our  prime  and  basic  knowledge 
of  substance,  being,  power  is  that  which  we  have  of  our 
own  spiritual  selves  and  there  is  nothing  which  we  know 
more  fully,  better,  clearer,  more  distinctly  and  positively 
than  our  own  spiritual  states  and  activities,  our  thoughts, 
feelings,  volitions.  It  is  only  by  knowing  these  that  we 
know  anything.  If  our  knowledge  of  these  becomes 
obscured  and  uncertain,  the  same  obscurity  falls  there- 
with upon  all  the  things  of  the  material  world.  We  have 
no  superior  means  of  knowing  material  things.  The 
realities  of  the  two  realms  are  alike  known  by  immediate 


298  VI     INTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

'flOlbis  ''Ktte  Do  not  *Rnow  tbe  Complete 


cognition,  with  this  advantage  in  regard  to  the  spiritual, 
they  are  already  within  the  Soul  without  the  need  of  in- 
troduction to  it;  there  is  no  gulf  of  separation  between 
it  and  them  in  the  nature  of  their  being;  and  we  have 
the  opportunity  of  scrutinizing  them  most  intimately  and 
at  our  leisure. 

The  Question  may  arise  why  is  it  that  we  do  not  know 
the  Complete  Contents  of  our  spiritual  selves,  if  we  have 
the  power  of  Internal  Perception,  which  is  the  cognizing 
of  realities  which  are  present?  The  answer  is,  because 
of  the  limitation  of  this  power.  This  is  no  exception  to 
the  rule  that  all  our  powers  are  limited.  In  one  import- 
ant particular  Internal  differs  from  External  Perception. 
The  difference,  however,  is  not  in  the  Intuitive  Power 
itself.  This  is  precisely  the  same  in  both  cases.  The 
difference  is  only  in  the  presentation  of  the  objects  cog- 
nized. The  Realities  of  the  material  world,  being  external 
and  gross,  need  to  be  presented  to  the  Soul  by  special 
organs  of  perception  in  proper  delicacy  of  refinement. 
Those  of  the  spiritual  world,  being  already  within  and 
being  themselves  spiritual,  need  no  such  organs  of  pre- 
sentation. Two  things,  however,  are  necessary,  because 
of  the  limited  character  of  our  power  of  perception,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  cognized. 

I.  Th&y  must  be  presented.  They  may  be  self-presented. 
This  is  so  with  all  those  which  are  the  actual  activities 
and  states  of  the  present  moment.  Arising  within  and 
having  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  continuation  they  pre- 
sent themselves  for  our  perception  of  them.  This,  how- 
ever, is  extremely  incomplete.  To  what  extent  they  are 
all  permanently  preserved  within  the  Soul  it  is  impossible 
to  say.  In  regard  to  their  preservation  some  writers 
seem  to  go  to  a  very  great  extreme.  We  know,  however, 
that  in  a  large  measure  they  remain  and  can  be  recalled, 
or  reproduced  over  and  over  again.    When  by  our  power 


SPIRITUAL  REALITIES  299 

Contents  of  our  Spiritual  Selves 


of  recalling  and  representation,  they  are  again  held  up 
before  us  they  are  thus  presented  for  our  cognition, 
otherwise,  though  within  the  Soul,  they  cannot  be  per- 
ceived. 

2.  The  second  thing  necessary  is  the  Concentration  of 
consciousness  upon  them ;  this  is  often  called  Attention. 
Realities  may  readily  be  present  and  yet  be  unperceived 
because  our  attention  is  not  directed  upon  them,  or  not 
sufficiently  so.  Or  they  may  be  practically  unperceived, 
though  not  so  in  reality;  because  they  were  regarded 
with  such  little  consideration  that  they  immediately  faded 
and  were  lost,  as  though  they  had  not  been.  This  is 
undoubtedly  the  case  with  unnumbered  instances.  It  is 
a  well  known  fact  that  we  can  attend  to  only  a  few  things 
at  a  time;  some  give  the  rule  that  we  can  attend  to  only 
one  thing  well  at  once.  We  cannot  even  at  the  same 
moment  give  attention  to  our  entire  body.  There  is  here 
a  striking  difference  among  men.  Some  have  remarkable 
power  of  diversified  attention.  Public  speakers,  having 
lost  their  line  of  thought,  have  gone  on  speaking  intelli- 
gently while  they  were  carrying  on  a  process  of  thought, 
by  which  they  have  gone  back,  discovered  and  picked  up 
the  lost  line  and  have  then  gone  forward  again  with  it 
all  unnoticed  by  the  audience  with  the  exception  of,  per- 
haps, only  one  or  two  very  intelligent  hearers.  Noted 
chess-players  have  been  able  to  conduct  two  distinct 
games  at  chess  at  the  same  time.  School  teachers  have 
been  able  to  hear  recitations  and  while  so  doing  have 
kept  a  watchful  eye  over  the  conduct  of  the  entire  school. 
Still  more  rare  are  examples  of  those  who  give  attention 
to  more  than  two  things  at  once. 

With  this  necessity  of  concentrated  consciousness  and 
this  well  known  fact  of  the  limitation  of  our  power  of 
concentration,  or  attention,  and  the  need  of  the  presen- 
tation of  things,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  impossible  for  us 


300  VI     INTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Careful  Ifntensit^  ot  G;bougbt 


at  present,  at  least,  to  perceive  at  one  moment  the  entire 
contents  of  our  spiritual  selves. 

As  Internal  Perception  is  Intuition,  that  is  an  act  of 
Consciousness,  it  is  Infallible.  It  is  simply  the  taking 
knowledge  of  that  which  is  and  which  is  present.  Within 
this  there  is  no  room,  nor  possibility  of  error.  All  so- 
called  instances  of  mistakes,  or  deceptions,  are  not  such 
in  reality,  and  are  all  accounted  for  in  essentially  the 
same  ways  as  already  mentioned  in  reference  to  the  ap- 
parent deceptions  of  External  Perception;  and  which 
need  not  be  repeated  here. 

Section  II     Scientific  Perception 

As  we  pointed  out  that  there  is  what  we  have  called 
Scientific  External  Perception,  so  also  there  is  that  which 
we  may  call  Scientific  Internal  Perception.  This  is  of 
extreme  importance,  yet  it  differs  from  the  ordinary  only 
in  the  employment  of  it  to  the  very  best  advantage  and 
with  intensity  of  accompanying  thought  and  purpose. 

In  this  the  acts  of  Consciousness  remain  strictly  true 
to  themselves,  not  in  the  least  confounded  with  the 
thoughts  and  purposes  under  which  they  act.  Though 
scientific  it  is  strictly  observation,  just  as  in  external  per- 
ception notwithstanding  his  telescope,  microscope  and 
all  his  scientific  instruments  and  appHances  the  scientist 
is  simply  an  observer,  he  only  sees  that  which  is.  That 
which  is  to  be  especially  noted  is,  that  the  Scientific  In- 
ternal Perception  is  in  itself  the  same  as  that  which  ani- 
mals and  all  ordinary  men  have,  though  so  far  advanced 
in  practical  results.  In  all  ordinary  cases  Internal  Per- 
ception is  of  the  most  careless  and  imperfect  character, 
but  our  use  of  it  admits  of  wonderful  advancement.  We 
may  become  most  careful,  scrutinizing  observers  of  our 
spiritual  states  and  activities,  discovering  much  to  which 
ordinary  men  give  no  heed ;  having  eyes  they  see  not. 


II  SCIENTIFIC  PERCEPTION  301 

C;wo*3fol£)  fntultlve  perception 


We  have  thus  presented  Intuitive  Perception  in  its 
two  activities,  according  as  it  is  directed  to  the  things  of 
Self  and  the  things  of  the  Material  World.  The  one 
power  of  Intuition  may  thus  be  regarded  as  "  Internal 
and  External  Perception." 

The  Soul,  being  at  the  beginning  a  perfect  blank, 
though  fully  endowed  with  all  its  faculties,  capacities, 
laws  and  characteristics,  derives  all  its  knowledge  from 
this  power  of  "  Immediate  Cognition  of  Realities."  Our 
Intuitions  are  the  origin,  the  source,  the  foundation  of 
our  entire,  known  experience.  They  present  all  the  data, 
the  whole  material  of  our  thoughts,  emotions,  volitions. 
Furnished  with  the  material  thus  provided,  we  elaborate 
it  by  the  activity  of  the  other  powers  of  the  Soul  and 
rise  to  the  true  conception  of  the  spiritual  and  material 
worlds  in  which  we  live  and  of  which  we  form  a  part, 
penetrating  more  and  more  into  the  depths  of  their  mys- 
teries and  reaching  out  after  God  and  the  Infinite  Abso- 
lute, according  to  our  mental  endowments  and  the 
fidelity  with  which  we  use  them.  To  the  attainments 
and  aspirations  of  the  human  Soul  there  seems  to  be 
practically  no  limitation,  because  of  its  own  wonderful 
endowments  and  the  inexhaustible  realities  opened  out 
before  it,  provided  it  recognizes  its  own  proper  realm, 
that  of  the  Finite  and  seeks  not  to  penetrate  into  the 
Infinite. 

Such  being  the  character  of  "  Intuitive  Perception," 
our  next  step  is  the  consideration  of  the  "  Intuitions  " 
themselves,  the  Realities  perceived. 

By  way  of  preparation  we  must  remove  out  of  the  way 
the  so-called  Intuitive  Beliefs  and  Judgments. 

Section  III     Beliefs  and  Judgments 

It  is  evident  that  there  are  no  Intuitive  Beliefs. 
"Intuitions"  are  things  known  by  immediate  cognition. 


302  VI     INTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

XLbc  iFacultg,  JBeltefs  not  Intuitive 


Beliefs  are  things  known  from  testimony,  reasoning, 
proof.  "Belief"  may  be  defined  as  a  concept  and  a  con- 
viction of  its  reality,  both  being  derived  from  and 
founded  upon  testimony.  As  a  native,  or  constitutional 
characteristic  of  the  Soul  "Belief"  is  simply  a  ''faculty,'' 
as  devoid  of  beliefs  as  the  faculty  of  external  perception 
is  devoid  of  cognitions.  As  a  "faculty"  it  may  be  de- 
fined as  "  the  power  to  appreciate  and  have  confidence  in 
Testimony."  It  belongs  to  discursive  reasoning.  Super- 
stition is  this  power  and  superstitions  are  beliefs.  But 
Superstition  is  characteristic  of  the  weak-minded  and 
ignorant.  These  have  the  faculty,  as  we  have  defined  it, 
but  within  them  it  is  weak.  They  fail  in  proper  appre- 
ciation of  testimony,  while  their  confidence  is  extreme. 

There  are  Beliefs  which  may  seem  to  be  self-evident, 
necessary,  universal,  infallible.  If  this  be  their  true 
character,  they  are  not  "  beliefs,"  but  immediate  cogni- 
tions. Or  if  they  are  beliefs  they  only  seem  to  have 
these  characteristics,  because  of  their  extreme  simplicity; 
in  their  case  the  process  of  receiving  and  weighing  the 
testimony  is  of  the  simplest  kind  of  reasoning;  and  be- 
cause the  testimony,  on  which  they  rest,  is  over- 
whelming. 

This  presentation  is  entirely  different  from  the  preva- 
lent view. 

It  is  affirmed,  that  there  are  "Intuitive  Beliefs,"  which 
have  reference  to  things  absent  and  by  which  in  their 
highest  flights  we  rise  to  most  exalted  realms  which 
would  otherwise  be  unknown.  Were  they  "intuitive," 
this  would  be  impossible;  they  would  be  strictly  confined 
to  things  which  are  present. 

A  great  mystery  is  thrown  over  them.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  tell  what  they  are.  They  seem  to  be  special 
truths  interwoven  within  our  being ;  it  seems  as  though 
the  Soul  had  received   some  new   revelation,  or  was  en- 


Ill  BELIEFS  AND  JUDGMENTS  303 

/ift^sters  Seems  C^brown  over  a;bem 


dowed  with  a  "second  sight,"  which  sees  and  knows 
things  unseen  by  our  ordinary  power  of  perception. 
Sir  WilHam  Hamilton  says:  "  By  a  wonderful  revelation 
.  .  .  we  are  inspired  with  a  belief  in  the  existence  of 
something  unconditioned  beyond  the  sphere  of  all  com- 
prehensive reality." 

Dr.  McCosh  says  "  No  man  is  entitled  to  restrict  him- 
self to  cognitions,  and  refuse  to  yield  to  the  beliefs, 
which  he  is  also  led  to  entertain  by  the  very  constitution 
of  his  mind."  "  Primitive  and  heaven-born  beliefs." 
"  Convictions  in  regard  to  something  which  we  do  not 
immediately  know — nay  which  we  may  never  be  able  to 
know." 

All  this  is  a  i-evelation  of  truths  to  us,  springing  up 
within  the  Soul  itself,  neither  acquired  by  immediate 
cognition,  nor  imparted  from  without. 

This  mysticism  must  be  cast  aside,  and  the  plain, 
scientific  statement  accepted,  that  all  our  "Intuitions" 
are  Intuitive  Cognitions  and  that  these  alone  give  us 
Infallible  Truth. 

Judgm.ents. 

We  give  this  presentation  supplemental  to  that  given 
on  page  11  seq.  on  account  of  its  importance. 
Judgments  are  not  Intuitive  because 

1.  They  belong,  not  to  immediate  cognition,  but  to 
discursive  reasoning. 

2.  They  are  not  infallible.  That,  which  is  a  matter  of 
judgment,  may  be  regarded  very  differently  by  different 
individuals. 

3.  If  made  intuitive  they  are  identified  with  immediate 
cognitions.  It  would  be  impossible  to  distinguish  these 
from  one  another. 

4.  The  term  "Intuitive  Judgments"  is  inadmissible, 
because  it  is  mystic,  inexplicable,  unscientific.     The  ex- 


304  VI     INTERNAL  PERCEPTION  sec. 

Important  tbat  ITntultlons  be 


pression  is  used  to  teach  that  over  and  beyond  "imme- 
diate cognition,  there  is  an  additional  source  of  InfalUble 
knowledge,  namely,  that  of  Intuitive  Judgment."  But 
what  is  this  ?  What  is  the  new  vision  by  which  we  see 
new  truth,  and  see  it  infallibly  and  as  necessary  and  uni- 
versal truth  ?  What  makes  it  infallible  ?  Of  this  remark- 
able "insight"  no  explanation  is  given.  Of  it  we  can 
form  no  conception.  It  is  mysterious,  mystic.  It  can 
only  be  regarded  as  a  Divine  Revelation  of  Truth.  We 
know  what  Intuitive  cognition  is  and  why  infallible ;  it  is 
because  we  cognize  that  which  is.  This  is  definite  and 
plain;  but  we  cannot  tell  what  that  power  is  which  is 
called  Intuitive  Judgment,  by  which  we  have  an  infallible 
insight  into  Truth,  which  is  dififerent  from  and  beyond 
immediate  cognition,  and  can  not  understand  what 
makes  it  infallible.  We  have  no  such  power.  Our 
judgments  are  cognitive,  but  they  differ  from  Intuitions 
in  that  they  are  mediate,  while  the  latter  are  immediate. 

5.  The  nature  and  definition  of  "Judgment"  pre- 
clude intuition.  "  To  judge  "  is  to  arrive  at  Truth  before 
and  otherwise  unknown,  by  the  consideration  and  weigh- 
ing of  given  facts,  or  data.  In  every  judgment  two 
things  are  essential;  the  one  that  there  be  a  process  of 
reasoning,  the  other  that  the  truth  be  not  self-evident. 
If  the  Truth  be  self-evident  we  know  it  by  immediate 
cognition  and  there  is  no  need,  nor  room,  for  Judgment. 
If  there  be  no  process  of  reasoning,  judgment  becomes 
impossible;  we  are  without  a  foundation  on  which  to 
rest  our  judgment,  or  the  means  by  which  we  may 
judge. 

6.  What  we  have  said  agrees  with  the  derivative  mean- 
ing of  the  word  "  judge."  It  is  derived  from  the  Latin 
"jus'"  and  '^ dico,'^  signifying  to  pronounce  right.  Hav- 
ing taken  everything  available  into  consideration  and 
having  given  to  all  their  proper  weight,  we  declare  that 


Ill  BELIEFS  AND  JUDGMENTS  305 

DfstinguisbcD  from  au  JuDgmcnts 


the  opinion  which  we  form,  or  the  conclusion  at  which 
we  arrive  is  right,  it  is  the  correct,  the  true  one,  the  one 
in  accord  with  the  facts.  But  this  is  reasoning  and  there 
is  large  room  for  error.  Further  consideration,  and 
additional  data  might  lead  us  to  a  different  opinion. 
There  are  some  judgments  where  the  process  of  reason- 
ing is  so  simple  and  rapid,  and  the  conclusion  so  evident, 
that  they  are  almost  "self-evident  truths  directly  cog- 
nized," and  from  these  it  may  be  hard  to  distinguish 
them;  but  this  must  be  done  in  order  that  they  be 
known  in  their  true  character. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  Intuitions,  and  all 
Judgments  be  properly  distinguished  from  one  another. 
We  have  two  different  things,  and  we  should  have  a 
peculiar  name  for  each ;  otherwise  confusion  and  most 
serious  error  result.  To  "cognize"  is  one  thing,  to 
"judge"  is  another. 

With  this  removal  of  the  so-called  Intuitive  Beliefs  and 
Judgments,  we  pass  to  the  consideration  of   our  Intui- 
tions, the  Realities  Cognized. 
20 


CH  AFTER    VII 


Untuitions 

Section  I     Classification 

First  and  foremost  among  our  Intuitions  are  all  our 
*'  Perceptions  "  of  the  concrete  "  things  "  of  the  Spiritual 
and  Material  Worlds.  These  are  innumerable  and  of  the 
most  varied  character,  and  constitute  the  sum  and  the 
substance  of  all  our  knowledge. 

I.  Our  Perceptions  of  the  things  of  the  Material 
World  are  "Intuitions."  Our  outlook  upon  it  as  a  unit 
and  our  vision  of  its  individual  objects  and  varied,  chang- 
ing phenomena.  As  before  pointed  out,  our  invariable 
and  distinct  use  of  the  term  "phenomena"  is  in  the 
sense  of  ''  Manifested  Realities^  All  these  Realities,  as 
we  are  in  the  act  of  looking  upon  them,  as  garnered  in 
Memory,  and  held  up  before  us  by  recollection,  are 
Intuitive  Truths,  or  Intuitions. 

II.  Intuitive  Truths  are,  still  further  in  detail,  all  the 
Relations  of  Material  things  to  one  another  which  are 
immediately  cognized.  Their  apartness  from  one  another; 
their  varied  distances  and  movements ;  their  figures  and 
sizes ;  the  way  in  which  they  act  and  react  upon  one 
another ;  the  diversified  manifestations  of  forces ;  causes 
and  effects ;  the  harmony  and  discords,  the  uniformity 
and  variations  of  Nature;  the  abiding  being  and  real 
entity  of  things;  the  transmutations  of  the  state  of 
things  from  solid  to  liquid,  to  vapor,  to  gas ;  changing 
shapes,  unity,  individuality,  identity ;  divisions  and  sub- 

306 


CLASSIFICATION  307 

3four  Classes  ot  Ifntuttlons 


divisions,  separations  and  unitings ;  all  observed  laws 
and  every  thing  that  is  an  object  of  observation.  These 
Intuitions  are,  to  a  great  degree,  from  the  more  careful 
and  intent  cognition.  They  are  simply  the  observation 
of  things,  which  multitudes  of  men  may  carelessly  fail  to 
notice,  and  they  may  be  such  as  are  perceived  only  by 
the  best  observers;  deeper,  less  obvious  truths,  obtained 
by  what  we  have  called  "  Scientific  Perception." 

III.  In  the  next  place.  Intuitions  are  those  facts  and 
relations  of  the  material  world  which  are  immediately 
cognized  and  are  perceived  to  be  universal  and  neces- 
sary. These  are  such  as  the  Truths  of  Geometry,  Arith- 
metic, Cause  and  Effect. 

IV.  Yet  again,  Intuitions  are  these  "  Necessary 
Truths  "  when  formulated  into  axioms,  principles,  rules 
by  the  discursive  reason,  so  far  as  this  is  done  correctly. 
These,  however,  are  "Intuitions"  in  a  secondary  sense; 
as  they  are  only  our  statements  of  that,  which  is  Intui- 
tive ;  and  as  we  are  liable  to  greater  or  less  misstatement, 
there  is  in  them  an  element  of  fallibility. 

Corresponding  with  these  Intuitions  of  the  Material 
World,  there  are  those  of  the  Spiritual. 

I.  All  our  Perceptions  of  the  things  of  our  Spiritual 
Selves  are  Intuitions.  Our  immediate  Cognitions  of  our 
states,  faculties,  activities.  All  these  as  a  unit  and  as  in- 
dividual objects  of  observation ;  all  the  varied  and  ever 
changing  "  phenomena "  of  the  Soul,  these  and  all  our 
knowledge  stored  in  Memory,  and  held  up  before  us  by 
recollection.     These  form  a  vast  array  of  Intuitive  Truths. 

II,  Still  further  in  detail,  our  Intuitions  are  all  the 
Relations  of  these  Realities  of  the  Soul  to  one  another 
which  are  immediately  cognized.  The  individuality  and 
diversity  of  our  varied  faculties,  and  their  action  and  re- 
action upon  one  another,  the  peculiarities  of  their  activi- 
ties, the  uniformity,  the  contrasts,  the  harmony  and  dis- 


3o8  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

■ffntuitlons  of  tbc  Sptritual  XKlorlD 

cords  by  which  they  are  characterized;  the  rising  and 
falling,  the  coming  and  going,  the  associations  of 
thoughts,  emotions,  volitions ;  the  distinction  between 
the  things  and  powers  of  the  Soul  and  those  of  the 
Material  World;  the  relation  of  the  Spiritual  to  the 
Material ;  all  observed  laws  and  every  thing  which  comes 
under  observation  within  ourselves.  Here  again,  we 
have  much  which  may  be  unnoticed  by  men  in  general, 
and  much  which  may  be  perceived  only  by  the  best  ob- 
servers and  by  "Scientific  Perception." 

III.  Intuitions  are,  yet  again,  those  facts  and  relations 
within  the  Soul  which  are  immediately  cognized  and  are 
perceived  to  be  necessary  and  universal  Truths.  They 
are  such  as  Personal  Identity ;  the  essential  distinction 
between  Spirit  and  Matter ;  Cause  and  Effect ;  the  laws 
of  mind,  as  the  Truths  of  Logic;  Right  and  Wrong; 
Moral  Obligation;  Free  Agency;  Responsibility. 

IV.  Intuitions  are  also  these  necessary  truths  when 
formulated  into  axioms,  maxims,  principles,  rules  by  the 
discursive  reason,  so  far  as  this  is  done  correctly.  But  as 
these  are  our  own  statements  of  that  which  is  Intuitive, 
they  are  only  intuitions  in  a  secondary  sense,  and  have 
within  them  an  element  of  fallibility,  as  we  are  liable  to 
greater  or  less  error  in  our  statements. 

In  regard  to  all  "Intuitions"  it  must  be  noted  that 
they  are  always  individual  and  in  the  concrete;  never 
abstractions  and  generalizations.  We  make  no  attempt 
to  give  a  complete  list  of  our  Intuitions,  nor  to  arrange 
them  in  systematic  order,  beyond  the  above  given  state- 
ment of  the  classes  to  which  they  belong.  We  present, 
however,  the  exposition  of  some  of  the  most  important. 

Section  II     Being 

This  may  be  regarded  as  the  Primary  One  among  all 
our     Intuitions.     This    is    our    distinct    Consciousness, 


II  BEING  309 

Conception  Definite  an&  Clear 


prominent  above  all  others,  "I  am,"  or  in  its  fulness,  "I 
am,  and  I  continue  to  be  with  an  unbroken  continuity  of 
Being."  And  it  is  this  Intuition  which  enables  us  to 
form  a  distinct  conception  of  the  "Being"  of  other  Per- 
sons and  of  Material  Realities.  Of  "Being"  no  definition 
can  be  given.  The  word  itself  is  simply  the  name  which 
we  give  to  the  thing  known.  The  "thing"  is  an  ulti- 
mate Truth,  a  Truth  of  absolute  simplicity.  All  that  can 
be  said  is  "Being"  is  being — "To  be"  is  to  be.  And  it 
cannot  be  known  except  by  the  immediate  cognition  of 
the  thing  itself.  It  is  not  on  this  account  something 
indefinite  and  obscure.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  perfectly 
well  known.  Our  conception  of  it  is  most  definite  and 
clear.  In  these  respects  there  is  no  conception  which  is 
superior  to  it.  When  we  affirm,  "I  am"  we  know  pre- 
cisely and  indubitably  what  we  mean,  as  much  so  as  when 
we  speak  of  figure,  size,  expanse,  solidity,  etc.  All  these 
are  simple  things  immediately  known,  or  not  at  all ;  and 
our  knowledge  of  them  is  complete.  Moreover,  our  con- 
ceptions of  everything  else  are  definite  and  clear  only 
because  of  and  in  proportion  to  the  definiteness  and 
clearness  of  our  conception  of  "Being."  Without  this, 
we  can  have  no  conception  of  another  Person,  of  a  horse, 
a  tree,  a  house,  a  stone;  they  are  nothing — they  are  not. 
Again,  "Being"  is  a  ''Quality,''  though  this  has  been 
denied.  That  of  which  real  "Being"  is  a  quality  is  Sub- 
stance. There  is  no  actual  "Being"  without  an  individ- 
ual Substance  of  which  it  is  a  quality.  The  two  are  in- 
separably connected.  In  knowing  the  one  we  so  far 
know  the  other.  We  cannot  think  or  speak  of  actual 
Being  without  thinking,  or  speaking  of  some  substance 
of  which  it  is  a  quality.  Our  Consciousness  is  "  I  am." 
I,  the  substantial  Soul,  have  being.  Substance  is  that 
which  has  "Being,"  it  is  that  which  is.  Substance  is 
more  than  "Being,"  for  "Being"  is  only  one  of  its  char- 


3IO  VII     INTUITIONS  Skc. 

XeinQ  a  (Slualit^  of  Substance 


acteristics,  or  qualities,  which  are  many  and  varied.  Sub- 
stance may  be  defined  by  stating  the  qualities,  so  far  as 
these  are  known,  but  "Being"  cannot  be  defined,  for,  as 
we  have  said,  it  is  itself  an  ultimate,  simple  thing,  a  single 
quality  of  something  else. 

It  is  evident  that  "Being"  is  a  quality.  It  is  that 
which  we  afifirm  of  a  thing,  which  we  attribute  to  it, 
which  it  has,  which  belongs  to  it,  which  is  characteristic 
of  it.  It  is  expressed  by  the  verb  "  zs,"  of  which  sub- 
stance is  the  subject.  Still  further,  "  Being  "  is  a  quality, 
because  it  is  the  manifestation  of  the  substance.  It 
shows  itself  by  its  own  presence,  its  being  here.  At 
school  we  used  to  answer  the  roll  call  by,  "Adsum," 
"  I  am  here."  To  the  question,  is  there  any  such  a 
thing  as  substance,  it  answers  for  itself,  "Adsum."  To 
the  cognizing  on-looking  Soul,  it  is  an  "  I  am  here." 
As  all  these  things  are  true  of  "  Being,"  it  is  hair- 
splitting to  attempt  to  distinguish  between  it  and  quality. 
In  saying,  page  1 12-120,  that  Time  is  an  Attribute  of 
finite  Being,  this  word  is  used  as  meaning  Concrete  Being, 
a  Being,  an  Entity.  Moreover  in  the  sense  of  an  attribute 
Being  involves  Time  within  itself,  for  Being  however  brief 
is  essentially  enduring;  "I  am,  I  continue."  Here  lan- 
guage is  inadequate,  the  same  word  has  two  shades  of 
meaning.  Mention  must  again  be  made  of  Being,  when 
we  speak  of  Substance  and  Reality. 

Section  III     Substance 

The  prevalent  Realistic  Presentations  of  Substance  are 
unsatisfactory,  obscure  and  in  some  measure  erroneous. 
It  is  a  topic  of  extremest  difficulty.  "  Substance"  seems 
the  most  profound  and  elusive  of  all  things.  We  can 
readily  and  definitely  think  of  Being,  Figure,  Size, 
Solidity,  etc.,  as  these  belong  to  and  are  the  manifesta- 
tions of  something.     But  how  shall  we  think  of  the  very 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  311 

(aualitics  Wffer  from  Substance 


thing  itself  in  which  these  inhere  and  which  they  reveal. 
What  is  the  thought  of  it  apart  from  its  qualities,  and  in 
what  sense  and  degree  is  it  identified  with,  or  distin- 
guished from  them?     We  give  the  following. 

Definition 

Substance  is  the  Elemental,  Ultimate  Thing,  an  in- 
dividual Unit,  or  "Entity,"  Self-Existent,  or  created; 
indestructible  except  ab  extra,  the  Basis  of  its  qualities 
giving  to  them  their  being,  binding  and  holding  them 
together  in  its  own  individual  Unity  and  Identity,  known 
as  an  individual  abiding  Unity  and  as  Self-manifested  in 
its  known  qualities  including  those  revealing  its  Unity, 
the  qualities  abiding  immutable  amid  their  changing 
phenomena,  and  is,  over  and  beyond  this,  an  unknown 
and  unknowable  Elemental,  Ultimate  thing. 

Any  actual  Substance  may  be  defined  by  enumeration 
of  the  known  qualities,  belonging  to  it  as  an  individual, 
abiding  Unit. 

Qualities  differ  from  Substance.  They  are  individual, 
single  things  of  prime  simplicity  and  admit  of  no  defini- 
tion ;  known  by  immediate  cognition,  otherwise  unknow- 
able; deriving  their  being  from  Substance  and  having  it 
therein,  without  which  they  are  naught.  While  Sub- 
stance is  complex;  it  has  its  own  created  being  and  the 
varied  qualities  by  which  it  is  characterized,  together 
with  much  also  which  is  unknown  and  unknowable ;  and 
may  be  defined  by  the  enumeration  of  its  qualities  and 
statement  of  its  "Entity."  How  do  we  know  that 
there  are  these  two  different  things,  of  which  we  can  and 
do  form  distinct  conceptions?  It  is  because  of  the 
known  facts  of  Consciousness. — Substance  is  cognized  in 
the  concrete  as  an  abiding  Unit  with  unchanging  created 
being  having  varied  qualities  with  actual  and  potential, 
and  consequent   changing,  phenomena,  some   of  which 


312  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

©bscurc  iprevailfnfl  Diews 


cannot  be  actual  together  at  the  same  time,  being  incom- 
patible with  one  another;  while  Qualities  are  cognized 
each  one  as  a  separate,  absolutely  simple  thing,  with  no 
being  of  its  own  but  having  its  being  in  that  to  which  it 
belongs. 

Some  statement  regarding  the  obscure  and  erroneous, 
prevailing  views  will  be  of  advantage.  Sir  William 
Hamilton  says  of  Substance,  "The  unknown  basis,  which 
lies  under  the  various  phenomena,  or  properties  of  which 
we  become  aware."  "  It  may  be  used  to  denote  that 
which  exists  absolutely  and  of  itself;  or  it  may  be  viewed 
as  a  basis  of  attributes,"  "as  conjoined  with  them."  "In 
dififerent  relations,  a  thing  may  be  at  once  considered  as 
a  substance  and  as  an  attribute,  quality  or  mode." 
"  Substance  is  thus  a  term  for  the  substratum  we  are 
obliged  to  think  to  all  that  we  variously  denominate  a 
mode,  a  state,  a  quality,  etc."  "  Compelled  to  refer  to 
an  unknown  substance." 

These  are  imperfect  statements,  with  elements  of 
error.  The  expression  "  which  exists  absolutely  and  of 
itself"  is  an  unguarded  on^  exposing  Realism  to  irresist- 
ible attacks.  There  is  no  such  Substance  but  the  In- 
finite, the  Divine.  The  Finite  does  not  exist  absolutely 
and  of  itself.  It  is  created  and  dependent.  As  described 
it  is  tiiithinkable,  it  cannot  be  cognized.  It  is  erroneous 
to  say  that  in  dififerent  relations  "  a  thing  may  be  at  once 
considered  as  a  substance  and  as  a  quality."  The  two 
are  contradictory  ;  a  substance  has  a  being  of  its  own ;  a 
quality  has  no  being  of  its  own,  its  being  is  in  the  sub- 
stance. Undue  separation  seems  to  be  made  between 
Substance  and  its  Qualities,  the  one  unknown,  the  other 
known,  conjoined  with  one  another,  losing  sight  of  the 
fact,  that  the  qualities  are  the  substance  manifested,  and 
that  this  is  not  altogether  unknown  but  is  in  part  known 
in  its  quahtfes  and  as  an  individual  unit,  with  peculiar 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  313 

as  to  Mbat  Substance  Htselt  I0 


characteristics  as  such.  Moreover,  there  is  the  mysti- 
cism to  which  we  have  repeatedly  objected.  Substance 
is  said  to  be  something  to  which  we  are  constrained, 
compelled  to  refer  qualities.  It  is  also  called  "  a  primary 
belief."  The  thought  of  Substance  mysteriously  arises 
within  us.  The  mystery  is  not  removed  by  saying  it  is 
a  law,  or  necessity  of  the  mind,  or  a  mental  impotence. 

The  view  of  Dr.  McCosh  appears  obscure  and  at  fault. 
He  says,  "  But  I  see  no  evidence  for  the  existence  of  any 
such  thing  as  a  substance  in  the  other  sense  that  is  as  a 
substratum,  lying  in  and  beyond,  or  standing  under,  all 
that  comes  under  our  immediate  knowledge."  He  here 
seems  to  deny  the  essential  fact  that  Substance  is  a  basis 
of  its  qualities  and  in  a  large  measure  something  un- 
known; and  makes  no  provision  for  binding  the  qualities 
together.  He  identifies  substance  and  its  qualities,  and 
yet  apparently  makes  them  two  different  things  each 
known  equally  in  one  undivided  act.  But  it  is  not  made 
plain  what  the  substance  is  which  is  thus  known  equally 
with  its  qualities.  It  is  said  to  be  a  thing,  a  reality  hav- 
ing being,  power  and  permanence.  But  these  are  quali- 
ities,  not  the  reality  itself.  The  thing,  as  described,  is 
an  unknown  thing,  not  something  known  equally  with 
its  qualities.  "The  Substance  is  the  very  thing  itself 
considered  in  a  certain  aspect,  and  the  qualities  are  its 
action,  or  manifestations."  "No  doubt  a  Substance  is  a 
thing  known  in  itself ^  We  know  Qualities,  and  Sub- 
stance as  manifested  by  them,  but  what  is  the  further 
knowledge  which  we  have  of  it  apart  from  these  in  the 
very  thing  itself? 

He  adds,  "  I  object  to  our  conviction  in  regard  to  sub- 
stance being  called  a  "concept,"  a  phrase  denoting  an 
abstract  and  general  notion  .  .  .  the  conviction  is  the 
intuition."  All  our  Intuitions  are  "concepts."  They 
are   the  knowledge,  that   is    the    conceptions   which    we 


314  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

:6ipo0(t(on 


have  of  things  directly  cognized.  If  "Substance"  be 
not  a  concept  it  certainly  is  not  a  thing  known  in  its 
very  self.  That  of  which  we  have  no  conception  is  to  us 
a  thing  unknown ;  and  the  conviction  is  destroyed  also, 
for  this  is  nothing  but  the  assurance  of  the  thing  cog- 
nized, because  we  know  that  it  is  and  that  it  is  what  we 
know  it  to  be.  Moreover,  the  question  is  what  is  the 
Substajtce  of  which  we  are  convinced  that  it  is?  And  if 
the  Intuition  be  only  a  "conviction,"  how  does  it  difTer 
from  Hamilton's  "constraint,"  "belief,"  how  is  it  any 
less  mystical  and  objectionable?  It  is  also  incorrect  to 
say,  that  our  Intuition  does  not  affirm  whether  Sub- 
stance is  Mnderived,  or  created.  The  positive  affirmation 
is  that  it  is  finite  and  is  created.  It  is  known  as  an 
effect  requiring  a  cause.  The  Infinite  Substance  itself 
does  not  come  within  our  Intuition, 

The  consideration,  which  we  have  thus  given,  of  the 
prevailing  views,  prepares  the  way  for  our  Exposition. 

Exposition. 

Substance  is  that  which  has  its  own  individual  abiding 
being,  or  which  itself  is,  whether  self- sustained  or  de- 
pendent, and  which  is  indestructible,  which  manifests 
itself  by  its  qualities,  with  which  it  is  identical,  from 
which  it  is  inseparable  and  of  which  it  is  the  basis,  and 
which  is  in  large  measure  unknown. 

It  is  not  altogether  unknown  and  unknowable ;  for  we 
know  it,  so  far  as  we  know  its  qualities,  its  self-manifesta- 
tions and  itself  as  an  individual  unit  with  characteristics 
as  such. — The  self-sustained  is  the  Infinite,  the  Divine; 
the  dependent  is  the  created. — The  abiding  being  is  of 
greater,  or  less  duration,  or  age  and  cannot  cease  to  be 
except  ab  extra. — The  individuality  is  that  which  makes 
it  an  "Entity,"  a  "Unit,"  its  own  self  separate  from  all 
other  units,  or  entities. 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  315 

jFIasb  ot  Xlflbtnlng  a  Substance 


According  to  this  definition,  a  Flash  of  Lightning  has 
its  substance,  or  is  a  substance,  none  the  less  so,  in  real- 
'ty,  because  of  its  instantaneousness  and  attenuated  char- 
acter. It  has  its  own  individual  being  and  manifests  itself 
by  its  qualities,  from  which  it  is  inseparable  and  with 
which  it  is  identical;  so  far  as  we  know  these  we  know 
the  substance  itself.  It  is  instantaneous,  because  the 
flash  of  light  ceases  with  the  cause  ab-extra  which  made 
it.  The  Electricity  has  leaped  and  diffused  itself.  In  the 
electric  arc-light,  the  spark,  or  flash  continues  because 
and  as  the  flow  of  electricity  continues.  The  flash  of 
Lightning  is  not  an  appearance,  an  unreality.  It  has  its 
substance  of  which  it  is  the  manifestation,  or  quality  in 
the  violent  vibrations  of  the  Ether.  While  these  last  the 
flash  of  lightning  is  a  substantial  reality;  it  is  the  Ether 
manifested;  in  knowing  it  we  thus  far  know  the  Ether. 
When  the  Lightning  ceases,  it  has  not  become  nothing; 
the  Ether  abides,  the  energy  has  been  transmuted. 
Though  we  have  been  taught  this  by  science,  the  most 
ignorant  know  that  the  flash  of  lightning  is  the  manifes- 
tation of  something,  it  is  not  a  mere  appearance,  it  is  a 
reality,  ofttimes  to  them  a  dread  reality. 

Again,  an  "Imagination,"  a  "Phantasie,"  which  we 
hold  up  before  our  mind  is  according  to  the  definition 
given  a  substance.  It  may  be  of  very  brief  duration,  but 
ceases  only  ab-extra,  only  with  the  cause  which  gave  it 
birth;  but  while  it  continues  it  has  its  own  individual 
being,  separating  it  from  all  other  Phantasies  of  our  own 
mind  and  the  minds  of  others,  and  it  manifests  itself  by 
its  qualities,  from  which  it  is  inseparable  and  with  which 
it  is  identical,  in  knowing  these  we  so  far  know  its  sub- 
stance. It  ceases  only  ab-extra,  when  our  mind  ceases 
to  construct  it.  It  is  not  a  mere  appearance,  an  unre- 
ality, but  has  its  substance  of  which  it  is  a  quality  and  a 
manifestation  in  the  Soul,  active  in  the  use  of  its  imagi- 


3i6  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Substance  bc^onD  Its  /iBanifcsteD 


native  power.  While  this  continues  in  that  particular 
way  the  Phantasie  is  a  substantial  reality;  it  is  the  Soul 
thus  manifested.  When  that  particular  Phantasie  ceases, 
it  does  not  become  nothing,  the  Soul  abides;  the  energy 
is  transmuted,  not  destroyed.  What  is  true  of  these  two 
instances  is  true  of  all  things. 

When  it  is  said  that  Substance  and  Qualities  are  in- 
separable and  identical,  and  that  in  knowing  the  latter 
we  know  the  former,  it  is  not  meant  that  we  know  all 
the  qualities,  and  that  substance  is  only  what  we  know 
it  to  be.  The  qualities  unrevealed  may  far  outnumber 
those  which  have  been  made  manifest;  and  the  substance 
is  not  simply  a  quality,  nor  a  collection  of  qualities;  it  is 
an  unknown  something  m  addition  to  its  qualities,  to 
which  they  belong  and  of  which  they  are  the  manifesta- 
tion. In  knowing  a  quality  of  a  substance  we  know  the 
substaftce  itself,  but  not  the  whole  of  it.  There  is  more 
of  which  this  is  only  one  of  its  manifestations,  and  in 
which  this  consists.  In  knowing  a  second  quality  we  do 
not  know  that  which  is  a  quality  of  the  first  qtiality,  and 
a  manifestation  of  it,  but  we  have  an  additional  knowledge 
of  that  thing  of  which  both  of  these  equally  are  qualities, 
and  of  which  they  both  are  manifestations.  Again,  in 
knowing  a  number  of  additional  qualities,  we  do  not 
know  that,  which  are  the  qualities  of  the  other  two 
qualities  and  manifestations  of  them,  so  that  in  knowing 
these  additional  ones  we  know  them,  these  being  iden- 
tical with  them.  This  is  contrary  to  fact.  The  qualities 
are  separate  and  different  from  one  another.  The  addi- 
tional ones  are,  equally  with  the  first  and  second,  quali- 
ties of  the  substance  of  which  all  are  alike  the  manifesta- 
tion and  with  which  they  are  all  identical ;  the  Substance 
being  something  unknown  and  unknowable,  except  the 
slight  knowledge  which  we  have  of  it  in  its  qualities,  and 
as  a  Unit. 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  317 

(Slualltics  an  "Clnftnown  Somctbing 


It  is  beyond  its  manifested  qualities  an  unknown  some- 
thing of  which  these  are  the  manifestations,  in  which 
they  inhere  and  by  which  they  are  bound  and  held 
together  in  the  unity  of  its  own  abiding,  individual  being, 
and — Substance  is  not  altogether  unknowable,  something 
separate  and  different  from  its  qualities,  hidden  beneath 
and  supporting  them ;  but  it  is  a  something  of  fathom- 
less depth,  of  which  we  have  a  superficial  knowledge 
through  its  self-manifestations,  in  which  its  qualities  in- 
here, to  which  they  belong  and  by  and  with  which  they 
are  bound  and  held  together  as  a  Unit;  the  Qualities 

"  Distinct  as  the  billows, 
Yet  one  as  the  sea." 

the  Substance  a  sea  of  fathomless  depth,  known  in  its 
surface  tossing  itself  into  waves. 

Scientists  assume  and  act  upon  this  assurance.  They 
speak  of  "  Elements."  These  are  things  which  cannot 
be  separated  into  component  parts,  such  as  gold,  silver, 
carbon,  oxygen,  hydrogen.  They  know  these  because 
they  know  some  of  their  qualities,  but  their  knowledge 
is  extremely  limited.  These  elements  are  far  more  than 
Science  knows  them  to  be.  There  are  such  things  as 
"gold,"  "silver,"  "carbon,"  "oxygen,"  "hydrogen," 
but  beyond  a  few  of  their  qualities  Science  is  profoundly 
ignorant  of  them.  It  is  a  simple  and  a  real  truth  to  say 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  Element  "  Gold,"  in 
which  the  few  known  qualities  inhere,  to  which  they  be- 
long and  by  and  with  which  they  are  bound  and  held 
together  as  a  unit,  but  which  beyond  this  is  altogether 
unknown.  As  a  fact,  the  element  "  Gold  "  is  an  unknown 
something  over  and  beyond  and  different  from  its  known 
qualities,  and  this  would  be  true  were  all  the  qualities 
known.  Its  qualities  do  not  constitute  "Gold."  It  is 
"Gold"  which  gives  them  their  being.     They  are,  be- 


3i8  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

TUltimate  G;rutb0  an&  ©bjecta 


cause  "Gold"  is. — We  might  have  three  boxes  of  the 
same  size,  and  elaborate  design,  one  of  gold,  one  of  sil- 
ver, and  another  of  carbon.  The  qualities  of  these  boxes, 
size,  shape,  ornamentation,  precisely  the  sa^ne  in  them- 
selves, would  have  their  material  abiding  being  in  the 
three  different  elements,  gold,  siver  and  carbon.  In 
each  case  they  are  the  qualities  of  the  element  of  which 
the  box  is  made;  in  the  one  case,  they  are  the  qualities 
of  gold,  in  another  of  silver  and  in  the  third  of  carbon. 
Were  these  elements  destroyed,  these  qualities  would 
cease  to  be.  But  though  the  qualities  mentioned  are 
thus  identified  with  these  elements,  the  elements  are 
other  than  and  different  from  these  qualities,  and  it  is 
because  of  this  difference  that  the  boxes,  otherwise  ex- 
actly the  same,  are  different  from  one  another  with  all 
the  difference  between  gold,  silver  and  carbon,  the  three 
different  elements ;  one  box  is  gold,  another  silver,  the 
third  carbon.  It  is  not  the  qualities  mentioned,  but  the 
elements  which  make  the  difference.  And  if  we  had 
never  heard  of  gold,  silver  and  carbon  and  knew  not 
their  peculiarities,  we  would  know  the  qualities  of  the 
boxes,  but  that  of  which  the  boxes  are  made  and  in 
which  the  qualities  have  their  being  would  be  unknown 
elements. 

As  there  are  ultimate  Truths,  so  also  there  are  ulti- 
mate Objects,  or  Things,  These  are  what  the  Scientist 
calls  ''elements''  and  the  Philosopher  ''substances'^ 
They  are  known  by  us  in  a  few  of  their  qualities,  but  be- 
yond this  they  are  utterly  unknown  things  which  give 
being  to  their  qualities  and  bind  them  together  as  units, 
as  gold,  silver,  carbon,  etc.  As  a  box,  with  all  its  char- 
acteristics, differs  from  the  elements  out  of  which  it  is 
made,  as  a  house,  with  all  its  exterior  and  interior 
peculiarities  differs  from  the  materials  of  which  it  is 
built,  and  as  both  have  their  being  in  the  things  of  their 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  319 

Definite  Concepts  of  ^wo  ITblngs 


construction,  so  the  qualities  of  the  substance  differ 
from  the  substance  in  which  they  have  their  being. 
Hence  putting  together  what  we  have  said,  we  state  it 
thus : — 

Substance,  both  spiritual  and  material,  is  the  Basis  in 
which  the  qualities  inhere,  which  gives  them  their  being 
and  binds  and  holds  them  together  in  its  individual 
Unit,  manifesting  itself  through  them,  but  remaining 
otherwise  an  indestructible,  elemental,  ultimate  thing. 

Thus  without  obscurity,  or  confusion,  there  are  two 
things,  both  of  which  we  know  with  definite  co7iceptions. 
I.  The  Qualities,  known  by  direct  cognition,  which 
have  their  real  substantial  being  in  the  substance,  a 
partial  manifestation  of  which  they  are.  They  have  no 
reality,  but  are  imaginary,  fictitious,  naught,  they  are  not 
except  as  they  are  substantial  in  the  Substance  to  which 
they  belong.  2.  And  there  is  the  Substance  known  by 
direct  cognition  as  an  Elemental,  Ultimate  Thing,  that 
is  an  Individual  Unit  with  its  finite  abiding  being  and 
peculiarities  as  such,  manifested  in  its  qualities  and, 
bafTfling  every  efTort  of  ours  to  know  the  fulness  of  its 
mysterious  self.  There  is  some  truth,  therefore,  in  the 
familiar  expression,  "  We  know  only  the  qualities  of  a 
Substance,"  if  properly  understood  as  meaning,  "We 
know  the  Substance  as  a  Self-manifested  Unit." 

Substance  is  Finite  and  Created. — Its  finite  character 
is  very  distinct.  But  as  finite  it  cannot  be  eternal,  nor 
self-existent.  Its  being  must  be  derived.  Known  also 
as  an  effect,  as  it  very  clearly  is,  it  must  have  had  a  First 
Cause,  a  Creator.  Being  a  finite,  created  reality  it  is 
indestructible  except  ab-extra.  That  which  is  cannot  be- 
come nothing.  Its  ceasing  "to  be"  would  be  an  effect 
requiring  a  sufficient  cause.  A  real  Entity  can  neither 
come  from  7iothing,  nor  pass  into  nothing.  It  ceases 
only  by  the  withdrawal  from  it  of  that  which  gave  and 


320  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

Self  an&  /Material  "Keali* 


maintains  its  being ;    that  which  gave  must  take  back 
the  being  into  itself. 

All  that  which  we  have  presented  is  according  to  the 
evident  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  \h-ViS — i.  Onx  primi- 
tive knowledge  of  Substance  is  by  the  direct  cog7iition  ot 
ourselves.  The  Soul  and  its  Qualities  are  directly  known 
by  us  in  the  same  act  of  cognition ;  they  are  identical 
and  inseparable.  But  we  are  conscious  of  the  Soul  as 
being  more  and  other  than  its  qualities.  We  intuitively 
know  ''Self— the  "I  myself"— the  "/"  who  am.  We 
know  "Self"  as  an  individual  Unit  that  is  and  continues 
to  be,  with  a  being  of  its  own,  finite  and  created;  that 
thinks,  feels  and  wills ;  that  possesses  and  exercises  these 
powers ;  that  binds  and  holds  them  together  as  an  abid- 
ing Unit  manifesting  itself  in  them,  but  otherwise  utterly 
unknown.  In  other  words  we  know  "Self"  as  a  "Sub- 
stance," that  is  a  ''Unit  which  w"  and  is  the  basis  in 
which  its  powers  inhere  and  of  which  they  are  the  mani- 
festations, and  beyond  which  it  is  an  unknown  elemental, 
ultimate  thing. 

2.  We  cognize  material  realities  in  the  same  way  as 
"  Units,"  or  individual  things  which  are  and  continue  to 
be  with  their  own  finite  and  created  being;  having  and 
manifesting  themselves  in  their  qualities ;  binding  and 
holding  them  together  in  their  individual  units  to  which 
they  belong,  but  otherwise  unknown,  elemental,  ultimate 
things.  We  do  not  cognize  material  objects  as  mere 
qualities  separate  from  and  independent  of  one  another, 
but  as  bound  and  held  together,  in  each  case,  by  some- 
thing otherwise  unknown  to  which  they  belong.  Thus, 
I  am  now  looking  at  a  leaf  on  a  tree.  I  know  that  it 
is  not  a  mere  appearance,  that  it  is  a  Unit,  an  abiding 
reality  and  as  such  is  something  more  than  expansion, 
figure,  size,  green,  motion,  though  I  do  not  know  what 
this  something  more  is. 


Ill  SUBSTANCE  321 

ties  (Iognf3eD  as  Substances 


How  then  do  we  know  that  there  is  Substance  itself, 
as  well  as  Qualities? 

It  is  by  the  Direct  Cognition  of  it.  We  cognize,  in 
the  concrete,  individual  objects,  "  that  which  is,  which  is 
cognizable  and  is  cognized."  They  are  perceived  as 
Elemental  and  Ultimate ;  we  cannot  resolve  them  into 
component  parts;  we  cannot  look  into  their  inmost 
nature;  the  beginning  of  our  knowledge  is  as  they  are 
cognized,  we  cannot  go  further  back.  We  immediately 
perceive  them  as  "  Units,"  finite  and  separate  from  all 
other  units,  each  having  its  own  inherent  being  of  un- 
broken continuity,  incapable  of  destruction  except  ab- 
extra,  with  varied  and  changing  "  phenomena,"  that  is 
manifestations,  actual  and  potential  of  its  qualities, 
bound  and  held  together  by  it  in  its  abiding  unity  and 
identity. 

Such  is  our  Cognition  of  Substances. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  all  this  Testimony  of  Conscious- 
ness, which  we  have  been  giving,  is  Cognition.  The  ex- 
pressions used  by  Hamilton  and  others,  "  we  are  con- 
strained to  think  of  a  quality  as  inhering  in  some  basis," 
"  compelled  to  refer  it  to  an  unknown  substance,"  "  con- 
viction," "  belief,"  are  objectionable.  The  question 
arises  what  constrains,  or  compels  us?  Whence  the 
conviction,  the  belief?  These  expressions  would  not 
have  been  used  had  there  been  the  proper  thought  of 
"Intuition"  as  ^^ cognition.''  We  are  constrained,  com- 
pelled, convinced  only  because  by  Intuition  we  know  the 
fact,  that  is  directly  cognize,  as  we  have  pointed  out, 
that  realities  are  more  than  mere  qualities. 

Having  our  Intuitive  knowledge  of  the  two  Sub- 
stances, the  spiritual  and  the  material,  we  form  there- 
from by  discursive  reasoning  the  formulated  concept  of 
Substance,  as  given  in  the  Definition  presented  at  the 
21 


322  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

Concept  of  Substance  Elements  ot 


beginning  of  this  discussion,  and  we  have  this  definite 
Conception  of  an  actual  Substance. 

A  Finite  Individual  Unit,  abiding  with  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  being,  indestructible,  characterized  by  various, 
unchanging  qualities  inherent  within  it  as  a  basis  and  by 
changing  phenomena,  actual  and  potential,  and  other- 
wise a  mysterious,  immutable  ultimate  thing. 

This  Conception  is  as  clear  and  definite  as  that  which 
men,  apart  from  science,  have  of  the  Sun.  They  con- 
ceive of  it  as  a  finite,  indestructible,  abiding  identical 
Unit  with  its  qualities  and  varying  phenomena,  its  size, 
its  shape,  its  radiant  light  and  heat,  its  rising,  southing, 
setting,  its  movement  along  its  path  amid  the  constella- 
tions, but  an  impenetrable  mystery  as  to  what  it  is  in  its 
own  constituents  and  structure,  its  interior  activities,  the 
source  of  its  light  and  heat  and  moving  power. 

The  Elements  of  our  Conception  of  Substance  may  be 
stated  thus : 

1.  It  is  that  which  is,  is  cognizable  and  is  cognized. 

2.  A  Unit. 

3.  Being  of  its  own. 

4.  Finite  and  Created. 

5.  Individuality ;  separation  from  all  other  units. 

6.  Indestructibility,  except  ab  extra. 

7.  Possessing  and  binding  together  innumerable 
Qualities. 

8.  Self-manifestation  in  its  Qualities. 

9.  Indestructibly  the  same  under  all  possible  condi- 
tions, mutations  and  length  of  time  in  Self,  qualities  and 
potential  phenomena. 

10.  Changeable  in  actual  phenomena,  some  of  which, 
in  many  cases,  are  incompatible  with  one  another,  and 
can  not  exist  together  at  the  same  time. 

11.  Uniting  with  other  substances  without  self-de- 
struction and  without  confusion  of    itself   and  qualities 


IV  REALITY  323 

TReccnt  attaclis  upon  IReallsm 


with  them  and  their  quaUties ;  ever  necessarily  true  to 
itself. 

12.  Essential  Distinct  Duality  of  the  Finite;  "the 
Spiritual  and  the  Material." 

13.  Essential  Oneness  of  the  "Infinite  Absolute."  The 
One  Divine  Spirit. 

Section  IV     Reality 

Recent  attacks  upon  Realism  have  been  regarded  as 
most  brilliant  and  serious,  even,  perhaps,  necessitating 
some  modification  of  the  Doctrine  that  it  may  be  main- 
tained. They,  however,  fall  short  of  their  aim.  An  un- 
just advantage  is  taken  of  the  imperfection  and  inade- 
quacy of  human  language  to  express  philosophical  truth, 
and  by  a  most  extreme  restriction  of  the  meaning  of  the 
definitions  and  expressions  employed  by  Realists  these 
have  attributed  to  them  the  assertion  of  that  which  they 
do  not  teach  and  do  not  believe.  It  is  impossible,  in 
presenting  abstruse  philosophical  truths,  to  find  words, 
definitions  and  expressions  in  which  extreme  hyper-criti- 
cism cannot  detect  imperfections  and  weave  out  of  them 
entangling  difficulties.  The  attacks  are  upon  the  lan- 
guage employed  by  Realists  and  not  upon  the  facts  of 
Consciousness,  which  they  present  and  upon  which  they 
insist. 

Our  Exposition  of  Reality  is  the  statement  and  unfold- 
ing of  the  Infallible  Testimony  of  Consciousness.  This 
is  the  Impregnable  Stronghold  of  Realism.  We  immedi- 
ately cognize  "Reality"  and  this  Reality  is  true.  It  is 
what  we  know  it  to  be ;  there  is  no  room  for  error,  be- 
cause the  thing  itself  is  seen,  looked  upon,  "taken  knowl- 
edge of." 

Definition. 
There  is  and  there  can  be  no  "  Reality  "  without  Sub- 


324  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

"  asdng  of  JBeing  "  and  "  Ulrue  McinQ," 


stance.  All  things  are  either  Substance,  or  Qualities. 
These  both  are  Real.  The  Substances  have  a  reality  of 
their  own  and  Qualities  have  their  reality  in  the  Sub- 
stance to  which  they  belong  and  in  which  they  inhere; 
without  a  Substance,  giving  them  substantial  Reality, 
they  are  naught.  The  question,  therefore,  is — What  is 
Substantial  Reality?  or,  "What  is  the  Reality  of  a  Sub- 
stance?    What  is  it  for  a  Substance  to  be  Real?" 

This  is  the  "Being  of  Being" — "The  Being  of  Exist- 
ence"— "The  Being  of  the  Thing  in  being."  That  which 
is  is.  Hence  it  is  "Property  of  Being" — or  "The  Pro- 
prietorship of  Being"  —  "The  ownership  of  Being." 
"That  which  has  its  own  Being,"  or  a  "Being  of  its 
own" — "an  own-Self  Being."  "A  Being  within  its  own 
Self,"  whatever  be  its  origin,  whether  self-existent,  or 
derived  and  maintained. 

Still  further,  it  may  be  called  "  The  Truthfulness  of 
Being,"  or  "True  Being."  Truth  is  the  correspondence 
of  one  thing  with  another,  or  of  one  proposition  with 
another.  There  is  "Truthfulness  of  Being,"  or  "True 
Being,"  when  "That  which  is  is  what  it  is,"  or  when 
"That  which  is  is  what  we  cognize  it  to  be."  And  of 
things  which  we  do  not  cognize — "That  which  is,  what 
we  think  it  to  be."  If  our  thought  of  it  be  true  the 
thing  of  which  we  think  is  Real ;  if  untrue,  there  is  no 
such  reality.  Unknown  Realities  are  things  which  have 
an  "  own-Self  Being,"  self-existent,  or  derived,  are  what 
they  are  and  are  what  we  would  known  them  to  be, 
should  they  come  within  reach  of  our  immediate  knowl- 
edge. 

Our  Intuition,  our  direct  cognizance  of  things  is  in  the 
concrete  and  is  that  they  are  Real ;  that  they  are  with 
an  own  Self-Being  and  are  what  we  know  them  to  be. 
This  is  not,  that  they  are  because  we  know  them,  but  we 
know  them  because  they  are.     In  reference  to  ourselves,. 


IV  REALITY  325 

"  XLxne  Proper  JBeing  " 


we  are  Realities  ;  that  is  we  are  with  our  own  Being  and 
are  what  we  know  ourselves  to  be,  namely,  "A  Spiritual 
Substance  with  being,  thought,  emotion,  will."  In  refer- 
ence to  the  Material  World,  it  is  a  Reality,  that  is,  it  is 
what  we  know  it  to  be,  "A  material  substance  with  its 
own  being  and  its  peculiar  manifested  qualities  and  dif- 
ferent from  our  own  substance;"  a  difiference  expressed 
by  the  terms  material  and  spiritual.  The  origin  and 
foundation  of  our  Thought  and  assurance  of  Reality  is 
the  Infallible  Testimony  of  Consciousness  that  "cognized 
things"  have  an  own  Self-Being  and  are  what  we  know 
them  to  be. 

Here  is  the  Proprietorship  and  Truth  of  Being,  and 
this  is  that  which  we  call  '^Reality." 

This  may  be  more  concisely  expressed  by  the  Term 
"True  Proper  Being,"  or,  yet  more  concisely,  "Proper 
Being,"  the  word  "Proper,"  being  used  in  the  same 
sense  in  which  astronomers  use  it,  when  they  speak  of 
the  "  Proper  Motion  "  of  our  Sun  and  of  the  Stars.  We, 
therefore,  give  the  two  definitions  Reality  is  "True 
Proper  Being,"  and  "Proper  Being." 

Exposition. 

In  presenting  Reality,  as  we  have  defined  it,  the  ques- 
tion arises.  What  is  it  "to  be?"  What  is  "Being?" 
The  Thought  of  "Being"  is  so  simple,  primary  and 
subtile  that  it  is  impossible  to  give  expression  to  it  in 
words,  or  to  form  a  definition  of  it.  "Being"  is  a  simple 
fact  of  Consciousness,  of  which  we  must  be  conscious  in 
order  to  know  it.  We  know  what  it  is  "  to  be"  by  being 
conscious  of  it.  The  affirmation  of  Consciousness  is  "  I 
am,"  "I  continue  to  be."  i.  Here  we  have  a  definite 
something  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  "To  be,"  or 
"Being."  It  is  a  characteristic,  a  quality,  a  property,  an 
attribute  of  ourselves.     It  is  not  apart  from   ourselves, 


326  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Statement  of  tbe  JFacte  ot  Con* 


but  is  as  belonging  to  ourselves,  to  the  substance  consti- 
tuting ourselves.  I  am  a  substance  possessed  of  charac- 
teristics, or  attributes.  These  attributes  have  no  being 
apart  from  the  substance,  neither  has  the  substance  any- 
being  apart  from  its  attributes ;  hence  substance  is  not 
apart  from  "Being,"  nor  "Being"  apart  from  substance. 
2.  Again,  by  Consciousness  I  know  that  mine  own  sub- 
stantial "Being"  is  not  self-existent,  nor  eternal;  it  is  an 
"effect"  and  hence  must  have  a  First-Cause;  this  is  the 
Creator.  In  this  is  involved  that  mine  own  "Being"  is 
dependent  upon  Him,  I  know  that  my  Being  has  an  in- 
herent persistence ;  it  cannot  be  self-destroyed,  nor  can 
it  be  destroyed,  that  is  it  cannot  become  nothing,  except 
by  the  act  of  the  Creator;  and  even  this  would  not  be  a 
becoming  nothing;  it  would  be  the  return  of  "being" 
to  the  Being,  whence  it  came.  3.  I  am  conscious,  that 
I  myself  am  an  indivisible  Unit,  and  that  I  have  an  un- 
broken continuity  of  continuation.  "  I  am,  I  continue 
to  be."  This  is  my  immutable  Identity.  If  I  have  had 
a  past,  it  must  have  been  by  the  unbroken  continuity  of 
my  Being ;  if  I  have  a  future,  it  also  must  be  because  of 
this.  4.  I  am  still  further  conscious  that  I,  who  am,  am 
possessed  of  inherent  powers  and  that  I  stand  related  to 
other  beings,  and  that  I  and  they  act  and  react  upon  one 
another.  5.  In  the  next  place,  I  am  conscious  of  other 
beings.  I  directly  cognize  material  things.  Material  is 
the  name  given  to  the  things,  which  I  cognize  as  having 
qualities  opposite  to  my  own,  which  must,  therefore, 
inhere  in  a  different  substance. — Knowing  by  my  own 
consciousness  what  "Being  "is,  I  know  what  the  "Being" 
is  of  the  material  things  which  I  cognize  to  be.  I  cog- 
nize that  these  things  have  the  same  "being"  that  I  have; 
that  they  have  a  being  of  their  own,  that  they  are  not 
eternal,  nor  self-existent,  but  have  a  First  Cause,  the 
Creator ;  involved  in  which  is  their  dependence  upon  the 


IV  REALITY  327 

sctousness  as  to  "  proper  :J3eing  " 


Creator.  They  have  an  inherent  persistence,  that  is  they 
cannot  be  self-destroyed,  nor  destroyed,  that  is  become 
nothing,  ab-extra,  except  by  the  act  of  the  Creator;  and 
even  this  is  not  becoming  nothing,  but  is  the  return  of 
"Being"  to  the  Being  from  whom  it  came.  I,  however, 
cognize  that  these  material  beings  are  numerous  and  that 
they  are  divisible,  as  far  as  they  are  cognizable  by  us. 
The  units  which  we  cognize  are  divisible  into  parts.  But 
the  undivided  units,  as  long  as  they  retain  their  unity, 
have  an  unbroken  continuity  of  continuance.  This  is  the 
immutable  identity  of  their  own  being,  and  when  divided 
into  parts  this  identity  remains  unimpaired,  as  each  part 
continues  with  the  same  unbroken  continuity  of  being, 
which  it  had  before.  6.  We  still  further  know  that  there 
are  other  spiritual  beings  besides  our  individual  selves, 
because  we  cognise  the  effects  which  they  produce  and 
by  which  they  are  manifested.  Knowing  our  own  "Be- 
ing," we  know  what  theirs  is,  or  what  it  is  for  them 
"to  be." 

All  these  are  facts  of  Consciousness. 

Thus  we  know  what  both  ^^Being'^  and  '^  Proper  Being'' 
are;  we  know  each  by  direct  cognition  of  itself,  and  hence 
know  that  they  are  infallibly  what  we  know  them  to  be : 
we  know  them  as  well  as  we  know  what  thought,  emo- 
tion, volition  are.  Thus  we  know  the  "Proper  Being" 
of  the  Spiritual  Substance  and  the  "Proper  Being"  of 
the  Material  Substance;  the  former  in  the  individual 
persons  in  whom  it  consists,  and  the  latter  in  all  the 
units  in  which  it  consists;  and  we  know  that  they  are 
what  we  cognize  them  to  be ;  they  are  True. 

I.  When  we  say  of  Persons,  that  they  are  real,  it  is 
meant  that  they  have  this  "thing"  which  we  call  "Being" 
and  which  we  know  by  direct  cognition  is  their  own,  and 
that  it  is  what  we  cognize  it  to  be.  It  inheres  in  them; 
they  are  and  are  incapable  of  self-destruction  and  of  de- 


328  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

■Realities  Due  to  SeconOar^  Causes 


struction  ab-extra  except  by  act  of  the  Creator,  who  both 
made  and  upholds  them,  and  they  continue  to  be  with 
unbroken  continuity  of  being  whether  there  are  other 
created  beings  or  not.  When  we  say  of  Material  Things 
that  they  are  real,  it  is  meant  that  they  have  as  their  own 
the  thing  which  we  call  ''Being,"  which  we  know  by 
direct  cognition,  and  know  that  it  is  what  we  know  it  to 
be.  It  inheres  in  them;  they  are,  and  are  incapable  of 
self-destruction  and  of  destruction  ab-extra  except  only 
by  act  of  the  Creator,  who  made  and  upholds  them ;  and 
they  continue  to  be  with  unbroken  continuity  of  being 
whether  there  are  other  created  beings  or  not. 

Thus  we  have  in  every  individual  Person  a  real,  abid- 
ing, spiritual  substance;  and  in  every  Material  thing  a 
real,  abiding  material  substance;  as  each  has  it  ow7i,  its 
proper  "  Being  "  and  both  are  True. 

2.  In  addition  to  these,  there  are  other  beings  which, 
though  originating  in  and  dependent  upon  the  Creator, 
are  due  to  Secondary  Causes;  that  is  to  the  action  and 
reaction  of  different  beings  upon  one  another ;  or  are 
effects  produced  by  the  activity  of  various  forces  within 
one,  or  more  beings.  These  things  have  "true  proper 
Being,"  that  is  Reality,  but  it  consists  in  that  of  the  sub- 
stance in  which  they  inhere  and  to  which  they  belong  as 
its  qualities  and  activities. 

Thus,  for  example,  our  thoughts,  emotions,  volitions, 
which  are  purely  subjective,  have  "true  proper  being," 
reality;  but  this  is  that  of  our  own  selves.  As  they 
rise  and  fall,  and  change,  and  come  and  go,  this  is  but 
the  activity  of  the  one  real  Entity,  ourselves ;  there  is  no 
change,  nor  creation,  nor  destruction  of  reality.  Again, 
those  thoughts  which  are  due  to  external,  material 
things,  being  our  cognition  of  these  things,  have  "  True 
proper  Being,"  Reality,  but  here  also  this  is  the  Reality  of 
ourselves.     They    are    the    activities    of    our    own    real 


IV  REALITY  329 

rbenomcna  of  tbe  lIQorl&  *Keal 


Entity,  fashioning  themselves  according  to  our  cognition 
of  material  objects.  It  is  true  that  they  are  due  to 
material  objects  and  could  not  have  been  without  them, 
and  change  the  moment  the  material  objects  are  with- 
drawn, yet  they  inhere  in,  belong  to,  and  are  the  activi- 
ties of  our  own  real  Entity,  and  in  it  they  have  their 
Reality. 

Again,  the  continually  changing  phenomena  of  the 
material  world  have  "  Proper  Being,"  or  Reality,  but 
this  is  in  the  reality  of  the  material  real  Entity.  As  they 
come  and  go  they  are  the  activities  of  the  material 
Entity  in  which  they  inhere ;  there  is  no  change,  no  cre- 
ation and  destruction  of  "Being."  As  long  as  the  phe- 
nomena last  they  have  their  "Proper  Being,"  Reality; 
when  they  depart  there  is  simply  a  change  in  the  activity 
of  the  material  entities,  to  which  they  belong  and  of 
which  they  are  the  activities. 

There  are  some  material  things  which  are  due  to  7nan, 
to  his  thought,  his  will,  his  activities.  Without  these 
they  would  not  have  been,  and  often  they  abide  only  as 
he  thinks,  wills  and  acts.  These  all  have  "  Proper 
Being,"  Reality,  but  it  is  the  "  Proper  Being,"  the  Re- 
ality of  the  material  Entities  to  which  they  belong  and 
of  which  they  are  the  qualities,  activities,  or  phenomena. 
Though  in  a  sense  due  to  man,  they  do  not  inhere  in 
him,  do  not  belong  to  him,  are  not  his  qualities,  nor 
activities;  they  do  not  have  their  "being,"  their  reality 
in  him.  He  has  simply  directed  already  existing  material 
substances  and  forces;  without  these  he  could  do  nothing. 

Every  object  of  art  and  mans  device,  every  manufac- 
tured object,  all  kinds  of  machinery,  which  he  has 
designed  and  made,  consist  in  material  entities ;  entities 
which  have  taken  the  shapes  of  which  they  were  capable ; 
and  their  activities  are  the  activities  of  material  forces 
such  as  they  are  capable  of.     And  all  these  things  have 


330  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

TRealities  Due  to  /IBan 


in  their  substances,  qualities  and  forces  a  "Proper  Being," 
Reality,  which  is  from  the  Creator  and  is  indestructible 
except  by  Him;  and  even  the  particular  shapes  and  acti- 
vities due  to  man  are  not  necessarily  dependent  upon 
him ;  he  may  be  entirely  removed  and  they  still  continue 
indefinitely  and  even  forever.  Thus,  man  may  plant  an 
acorn  which  will  grow  into  an  Oak.  It  owes,  in  a  sense, 
its  being  and  continuance  to  him.  He  might  have 
crushed  it  with  his  foot  in  its  first  springing  up;  and  at 
any  time,  now  that  it  is  a  great  tree,  he  may  cut  it  down 
and  burn  it ;  or  he  might  have  done  this  at  any  stage  of 
its  growth.  Yet  the  same  acorn  might  have  germinated 
and  have  grown  into  an  oak  without  him  and  he  might 
never  have  had  power  to  destroy  it.  This  was  the  case 
in  regard  to  all  forms  of  vegetation,  before  the  advent  of 
man  on  Earth. 

Again,  by  the  art  of  cultivation  and  breeding,  man  has 
introduced  a  great  variety  of  plants  and  animals.  We 
may  suppose,  that  these  particular  shapes  would  never 
have  been  without  him.  Yet  were  man  entirely  removed, 
these  could  continue  for  a  while,  perhaps  for  a  long 
period  under  favorable  circumstances,  to  grow  and  to 
propagate.  Again,  men  may  impress  certain  marks  of  a 
literary  character  upon  soft  clay  and  burn  this  into  hard 
brick;  and  such  bricks  may  lie  buried,  unknown,  for 
eight  or  ten  thousand  years,  and  then  be  dug  up  and 
deciphered,  or  they  might  remain  the  same  forever, 
totally  unknown  of  men  and  beyond  any  influence  of 
theirs.  A  stone  of  adamantine  hardness  may  assume  a 
shape  under  the  carving  of  the  sculptor  and  remain  un- 
changed through  countless  ages,  or  even  forever, 
whether  forgotten,  or  known  of  man. 

A  living  animal  may  be  dependent  upon  man  for  his 
being,  upon  his  thought,  his  care,  his  will.  Man  may 
have  bred  him  and  may  maintain  his  life  by  supplying 


IV  REALITY  331 

"  IR0  ©bject  witbout  a  Subject " 


him  with  food  and  drink  and  all  needed  attention ;  and 
may  put  an  end  to  him  at  any  time,  and  yet  the  living- 
animal  has  a  being  of  his  own,  "true  proper  being," — 
reality,  in  the  substances  and  forces  which  constitute 
him,  and  which  are  indestructible;  and,  moreover,  his 
present  living  self  might  have  arisen  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  Nature  and  might  receive  all  essentials  for  life 
apart  from  man  altogether. 

Such  illustrations  and  all  that  we  have  said  make  it 
evident  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  true,  abiding,  in- 
destructible "  Proper  Being,"  Reality,  both  spiritual  and 
material,  derived  from  and  upheld  by  the  Creator;  and 
that  even  the  beings  which  are  due  to  man  have  their 
"Proper  Being,"  a  being  not  in  hi77t,  but  in  the  Entities 
to  which  they  belong  and  in  which  they  inhere,  and  may 
continue  to  be  were  he  removed. 

It  is  also  evident  that  the  aphorism,  or  dictum  ^'  No 
object  without  a  subject'''  is  untrue,  unless  this  be  under- 
stood in  a  particular  and  very  limited  sense,  a  sense  in 
which  it  is  consistent  with  the  plainest  kind  of  pure 
Reahsm.  Thus  the  terms  may  be  taken  as  relative,  like 
husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  brother  and  sister, 
long  and  short.  In  this  sense  "object"  may  mean  that 
which  is  known,  and  "subject"  that  which  knows.  In 
such  a  sense  every  "object"  must  have  a  "subject" 
knowing  it;  for  there  can  be  no  act  of  knowing  without 
something  known,  and  no  thing  known  unless  there  be 
a  subject  knowing  it.  But  as  thus  understood,  the 
aphorism  would  have  no  adverse  bearing  upon  Realism, 
such  as  it  is  intended  to  have. 

Again,  it  may  be  understood  as  meaning,  that  the 
whole  Cosmos  and  all  that  it  contains,  as  it  lies  i^i  our 
minds,  or  in  our  conception  of  it,  is  a  product  of  our 
thought ;  it  is  intelligently  apprehended  and  according  to 
the  degree  of  intelligence  which  apprehends  it.     There 


332  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Zbc  Cosmos  a  IRealitis 


is  for  each  individual  no  Cosmos  but  such  as  he  intelli- 
gently apprehends,  and  hence  there  is  a  more  or  less 
different  Cosmos  for  every  one.  Here  again,  however, 
if  properly  taken,  this  understanding  of  the  aphorism  is 
not  adverse  to  the  plainest  and  purest  Realism.  We 
apprehend  the  World  intelligently.  We  know  the  Cos- 
mos by  direct  cognition  of  it  and  by  the  construction, 
from  this  material,  of  our  conception  of  it  in  part  and  as 
a  whole.  If  our  immediate  cognition  be  very  limited 
and  made  carelessly,  inattentively,  and  if  our  intelligence 
be  of  a  dull,  inferior  order  our  Conception  will  be  of  a 
corresponding  character,  and  the  world  to  us  would  be 
a  very  narrow  and  insignificant  one.  To  one  born  blind 
and  deaf  and  dumb  the  world  would  be  almost  unknown. 
To  a  little  child,  born  within  and  never  away  from  the 
tenement  district  of  a  great  city,  neglected,  with  mind 
all  untaught  and  undeveloped,  the  world  is  only  a  small 
prison-house  of  brick  and  mortar  and  stones.  While  to 
a  man  of  high  intelligence,  of  world-wide  experience  and 
scientific  knowledge,  the  world  is  the  Cosmos,  a  Universe 
of  unspeakable  Wonder  and  inexpressible  beauty  and 
loveliness.  All  this,  however,  has  reference  to  our 
thought  of  the  Cosmos  and  has  no  bearing  upon  the 
Cosmos  itself.  It  is  the  same  in  itself  for  every  indi- 
vidual, the  difference  in  individuals  being  only  in  their 
more  or  less  imperfect  apprehension  of  it,  as  it  really  is. 
The  Cosmos  is  a  Realty,  it  has  a  true,  abiding,  inde- 
structible ''Being"  of  its  own,  "Proper  Being;"  all  its 
varied  and  changing  phenomena  have  "True  Proper 
Being,"  their  "being"  consisting  in  the  abiding,  inde- 
structible "Proper  Being"  of  the  Cosmos,  in  which  they 
inhere  and  of  which  they  are  the  actual  manifestations. 
The  Cosmos  abides  whether  men  know  it  or  not;  and 
abides  the  same,  whatever  be  the  grade  of  man's  intelli- 
gent apprehension  of  it.     And  it  is  to  be  especially  noted 


IV  REALITY  333 

■KeaUem  an&  IFDealfsm  ContrastcO 


that  however  imperfect  the  apprehension  of  it  be,  or 
however  enlarged  such  apprehension  on  the  part  of  men, 
in  so  far  as  they  cognize  the  Cosmos  they  know  it  as  it 
is  in  its  own  "  Proper  Being ; "  and,  so  far  as  they  con- 
struct their  intelligent  apprehension  of  it  out  of  this 
material,  they  have  a  conception  thereof  which  is  true; 
the  concept  corresponds  with  that  which  is,  however 
imperfectly  they  conceive  the  Great  Reality. 

There  is  a  violent  contrast  between  Idealism  and 
Realism. 

Idealism  is  fallible  and  erring  ratiocination.  Realism 
is  the  Infallible  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  the  origin 
and  foundation  of  all  knowledge.  The  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  Idealism  is,  that  it  is  a  highly  wrought 
system  of  Reasoning,  whose  mazes  it  is  difficult  to  tread 
and  whose  subtilties  are  hard  to  master.  Such  being  its 
character,  it  fails  to  convince  ordinary  thinkers  and  is 
most  unreliable.  All  mere  processes  of  reasoning  are 
extremely  liable  to  flaws  in  the  successive  steps  of  the 
intricate  process,  which  render  the  conclusion  untrue ; 
and  the  slightest  errors  in  the  premises  make  all  the 
reasoning  null  and  void.  Idealism  has  all  this  weakness 
and  falls  of  its  own  weight. 

In  contrast  to  this  Realism  reduces  mere  reasoning  to 
a  minimum,  its  great  characteristic  being,  that  it  is  the 
simple  observatio7i  of  the  facts  of  Consciousness.  It  per- 
mits Consciousness  to  speak  for  itself  and  relies  implic- 
itly upon  the  Truth  of  its  Testimony.  It  gathers  the 
facts  which  Consciousness  presents  and  holds  them  up 
in  their  own  self-evident  truth.  Resting  firmly  upon 
this  sure  foundation  it  stands  unmoved,  while  around 
and  against  it,  the  rising  and  falling  waves  of  the  restless 
and  uncertain  sea  of  Idealistic  Reasoning  beat  themselves 
into  foam. 

No  process  of  reasoning,  however  able  and  brilliant. 


334  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

Wic  ftnow  tbat  Ht  is 


can  overthrow  the  self-evident  truths  of  Consciousness, 
which  we  have  simply  mentioned  one  after  another  in 
giving  our  exposition  of  Reality,  "True  Proper  Being," 
that  which  is  with  its  own  Being  and  is  what  we  know  it 
to  be.  Realism  is  Truth.  Idealism  violates  the  uni- 
versal, the  well  founded,  the  abiding  convictions  of  men. 
Realism  is  the  Light  which  they  see,  by  which  they  walk 
without  stumbling  in  their  every-day  life  and  in  which 
with  one  accord  they  all  rejoice  and  will  rejoice. 

Section  V     The  Infinite  Absolute 

The  consideration  of  these  is  here  introduced,  not 
because  these  are  Intuitively  known,  which  is  impossible, 
but  because  the  claim  has  been  made  that  they  are  thus 
known  and  in  order  to  set  forth  the  relation  of  our  Intu- 
itive knowledge  to  them.  The  Infinite  and  the  Absolute 
are  one  and  the  same,  and  we  will  speak  of  them  as  a 
Unit  having  the  twofold  name  "The  Infinite  Absolute." 
We  know  that  2V  is. 

We  know  that  it  must  be,  because  it  involves  a  contra- 
diction to  affirm  that  it  is  not.  We  can  not  affirm  our 
Intuitive  knowledge  of  the  Finite  without  affirming  the 
Being  of  the  Infinite  Absolute.  The  World,  spiritual 
and  material,  is  an  effect ;  it  is  not  eternal.  We  know 
this  by  our  immediate  cognition  of  its  character.  It  is 
ever  changing  and  is  the  manifestation  of  power.  It 
must,  therefore,  have  had  a  beginning  and  must  have  had 
a  sufficient  cause.  This  cause  is  necessarily  the  "  Infinite 
Absolute."  Of  this  we  can  form  no  conception  what- 
ever. As  Infinite,  as  Absolute,  it  is  unknown  and  can 
not  be  known  by  us;  because  our  thought  is  confined  to 
the  realm  of  the  Finite.  Beyond  this  it  is  impossible  for 
us  to  go. 

Our  knowledge  that  eV  is  does  not  involve  some 
knowledge  of  what  it  is. 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  335 

TMc  &0  not  linow  Wbat  Ht  Is 


I  may  look  into  a  deep  cave  of  impenetrable  darkness 
and  know  upon  the  testimony  of  those,  who  have  ex- 
plored it  that  there  is  something  within  it,  but  may  be 
totally  ignorant  of  what  this  something  is.  It  may  be 
alive,  or  inanimate,  it  may  be  human,  animal,  or  plant, 
or  mineral;  it  may  be  solid,  plastic,  liquid,  gaseous, 
ethereal;  it  may  be  natural,  or  artificial;  it  may  be  a 
fossil,  or  it  may  be  a  painting,  or  some  beautiful,  or 
offensive  statuary  wrought  in  marble,  metal,  wood  or 
clay;  it  may  be  thoughts  and  imagery  of  the  human 
mind  on  printed,  or  written  page.  It  may  be  something 
different  from  any  of  these,  something  of  which  I  have 
no  power  to  conceive,  but  my  ignorance  does  not  pre- 
vent me  from  knowing  that,  whatever  it  be,  zV  is.  Or  a 
barbarian,  or  a  totally  unlearned  person  may  look  at  a 
beautiful  piece  of  mechanism  in  full  active  operation,  and 
may  know  that  there  is  something  from  which  the 
motion  comes,  but  be  utterly  unable  to  think  what  it 
can  possibly  be;  and  were  he  told  that  it  is  magnetism, 
electricity,  steam,  these  would  be  only  names  for  the 
mysterious  something  the  "being"  of  which  he  doubts 
not.  Thus  it  is  with  the  Infinite  Absolute.  I  may  know 
that  zV  t's,  without  knowing  whai  it  is;  and  when  told 
that  it  is  the  Infinite  Absolute,  this  is  only  the  name  of 
the  Great  Unknown,  of  whose  "Being"  I  am  assured. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  Being  is  not  itself  an  attribute, 
and  that  it  involves  some  knowledge  of  what  a  thing  is 
to  know  that  it  is.  But  Being  is  as  truly  an  attribute, 
as  any  thing  else  is.  An  attribute  is  that  which  is 
attributed  to,  ascribed  to,  affirmed  of,  which  is  a  charac- 
teristic of.  As  we  attribute  to,  or  affirm  of  a  spirit 
thought,  feeling,  volition;  and  as  we  attribute  to,  or 
affirm  of  a  material  thing  shape,  solidity,  motion;  so  we 
may  equally  attribute  to,  or  affirm  of  spirit  and  matter 
Being;  and  as  spirit  and  matter  are  characterized  by  the 


336  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

■ffntilnite  Bbsolutc  JSefng  TUnftnown 


things  which  we  have  just  named,  so  they  have  Being  as 
one  of  their  characteristics.  Thought,  feehng,  voHtion 
are  not  apart  from  that  of  which  they  are  the  attributes ; 
so  Being  is  not  apart  from  that  of  which  it  is  the  attribute. 

Here  we  must  be  reminded  of  the  imperfection  of 
language.  When  we  say  of  the  Infinite  Absolute  that  it 
is  unknown  and  unknowable,  the  language  which  we  use 
is  in  a  measure  at  fault.  Strictly  speaking,  we  should 
say  that  it  is  unknown  and  unknowable  except  in  that 
we  know  it  as  having  Being.  Our  knowledge  of  things 
is  the  knowledge  of  them  in  their  attributes,  or  charac- 
teristics. In  knowing,  therefore,  that  the  Infinite  Abso- 
lute has  Being,  we  know  this  much  concerning  it.  But 
here  again  language  is  at  fault,  for  though  we  know  that 
The  Infinite  Absolute  has  Being,  we  do  not  know  what 
Infinite  Absolute  Being  is.  This  is  simply  beyond  our 
power  of  thought. 

Yet  again  language  is  at  fault,  for  when  we  say  that 
The  Infinite  Absolute  is  unknown  and  unknowable,  we 
mean  that  this  is  so  in  regard  to  them  as  Infinite  and  as 
Absolute.  This  is  heyond  all  possibility  of  our  thought. 
Thus,  I  know  what  wisdom  and  power  are,  I  know  what 
great  wisdom  and  great  power  are.  I  can  have  the 
thought  of  wisdom  and  power  adequate  for  the  produc- 
tion of  the  material  and  spiritual  universe.  I  can  have 
thought  of  wisdom,  and  of  power  adequate  for  the  pro- 
duction of  a  universe  vastly  superior  to  that  which  is, 
and  of  an  indefinite  number  of  such ;  but  I  am  utterly 
unable  to  think  of  Infinite  Absolute  wisdom  and  power. 
My  utmost  effort  is  simply  the  addition  of  finite  to  finite 
on  and  on  and  on,  but  still  ever  within  the  realm  of  the 
finite.  What  infinite  absolute  wisdom  and  power  are, 
how  they  differ  from,  how  they  agree  with,  how  they 
stand  related  to  finite  wisdom  and  power  is  beyond  all 
possibility  of  thought. 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  337 

■Rnown  "fflcflattvelB 


It  is  extremely  difficult  to  avoid  seeming  contradiction 
in  the  language  used,  and  to  employ  exactly  the  right 
words  and  expressions  to  affirm  the  truth  as  to  the  Infi- 
nite the  Absolute;  to  say  that  as  Infinite,  as  Absolute 
they  are  unknown  and  unknowable,  and  yet  to  say  that 
we  have  some  knowledge  of  them. 

1.  Thus,  as  already  pointed  out,  we  know  that  The 
Infinite  Absolute  is.  This  is  a  true  knowledge,  because 
"being"  is  an  attribute  of  it,  and  in  knowing  the 
attribute,  we  so  far  know  it,  though  we  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  infinite  being,  or  of  the  infiniteness  of  being. 
Ignorant  of  this,  The  Infinite  Absolute  is  to  us  unknown 
and  unknowable.  Here  the  apparent  contradiction  is 
due  to  the  imperfect  character  of  language. 

2.  We  have  a  negative  knowledge  of  the  Infinite 
Absolute,  that  is  we  know  what  it  is  not.  But  here 
again,  language  fails,  for  this  knowledge  is  the  proof  and 
the  declaration,  that  we  do  not  know. 

The  thought  of  the  Infinite  Absolute  very  readily 
arises.  It  is  not  a  mysterious  native  endowment  of 
the  mind  revealing  it.  It  springs  from  our  knowledge 
of  the  Finite  and  the  Conditioned.  The  terms  are  cor- 
relative, like  long  and  short,  wide  and  narrow,  husband 
and  wife,  parent  and  child.  We  know  the  finite,  and  the 
conditioned,  the  correlatives  of  these  are  the  Infinite,  the 
Absolute.  Having  the  thought  of  the  one  we  have  the 
thought  of  the  other.  In  thinking  of  the  finite  we  think 
of  the  infinite,  in  thinking  of  the  conditioned  we  think  of 
the  absolute.  The  terms  are  the  positive  and  the  nega- 
tive. The  finite  and  the  conditioned  are  the  positive,  we 
have  a  knowledge  of  them  ;  but  in  having  the  thought 
of  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute,  we  have  only  that  which  is 
negative.  The  Infinite  is  that  which  is  not  finite;  the 
Absolute  is  that  which  is  not  conditioned.  Thus  Infinite 
Being  is  not  finite  being ;  infinite  wisdom  is  not  finite 
22 


338  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

■ftnown  In  "ffts  JEtlects 


wisdom;  Eternity  is  not  Time;  Infinitude  is  not  Space; 
infinite  power  is  not  finite  power ;  infinite,  absolute  Will 
is  not  finite  will. 

Here  again,  because  of  the  weakness  of  language,  the 
known  and  the  unknown  seem  to  unite ;  we  seem  to 
affirm  and  deny  the  same  thing.  We  affirm,  that  we 
know  what  finite  being,  wisdom,  power,  will  are,  and 
that  we  know  that  infinite,  absolute  being,  wisdom, 
power,  will  are  not  what  we  know  finite  being,  wisdom, 
power,  will  to  be,  and  we  know  that  Eternity  and  Infini- 
tude are  not  what  Time  and  Space  are,  and  yet  the  Infi- 
nite, the  Absolute  are  unknown.  The  explanation  is 
that  knowledge  of  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute  is  only 
negative.  We  know  what  they  are  not ;  we  do  not 
know  what  they  are.  The  Infinite  Absolute  is  un- 
known and  unknowable. 

3.  We  know  The  Infinite  Absolute  in  its  effects  pro- 
duced, or  so  far  as  it  has  revealed  itself.  This  is  the  way 
in  which  we  know  all  things  else.  We  know  the  Soul 
in  knowing  the  efifects  which  it  produces,  its  thoughts, 
feelings,  volitions.  We  know  material  things  in  know- 
ing the  effects  which  they  produce,  the  varied  phenom- 
ena of  the  Cosmos.  Thus  also  we  know  the  Infinite 
Absolute,  by  knowing  the  effects  which  it  produces, 
these  are  the  things  of  the  spiritual  and  the  material 
universe.  Unable  of  ourselves  to  rise  up  into  its  realm 
and  know  the  "  Infinite  Absolute,"  we,  confined  within 
the  finite  realm,  know  it  with  the  knowledge  which  it 
has  imparted  to  us,  which  knowledge  is  and  must  be  a 
finite  one. 

Thus  we  know  that  the  Infinite  Absolute  is,  and  we 
know  that  within  it  is  that  which  is  the  adequate  Cause 
of  the  spiritual  and  material  universe.  Being  such 
adequate  cause,  it  cannot  be  in  any  respect  inferior,  but 
must  be  fully  equal  to  that  of  which  it  is  the  cause.     It 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  339 

IRnown  SupernaturallB 


must  be  fully  equal  to  the  wisdom  and  power  seen  in 
material  things ;  and  as  in  us  there  are  thought,  feeling, 
will,  living  personality,  so  also  there  must  be  within  the 
Infinite  Absolute  that  which  is  in  the  fullest  degree 
equal  to  these  ;  but  beyond  this,  our  knowledge  does  not 
go,  except  negatively. 

If  we  are  living  Persons,  a  living  Personality  must  be 
within  the  Infinite  Absolute,  though  what  Infinite  Abso- 
lute Personality  is  must  be  unknown  and  unknowable. 
How  it  stands  related  to  us,  how  far  it  agrees  with,  or 
dififers  from  us  we  can  in  no  wise  think.  Our  own  per- 
sonality is  a  Unit.  We  cannot  afBrm  that  such  is  the 
case  with  the  Infinite  Absolute  Personality,  or  whether 
it  be  a  "  One  in  Three  and  Three  in  One,"  or  something 
else  entirely  different.  And  if  it  be  a  "One  in  Three  and 
Three  in  One,"  we  can  by  no  means  think  what  this  is, 
nor  affirm  whether  it  is  possible,  or  impossible ;  all  our 
thought  is  restricted  to  that  which  is  finite. 

All  the  above  is  a  true  knowledge  which  we  have  of 
the  Infinite  Absolute,  yet  it  is  a  knowledge  which  has 
been  brought  down  from  the  infinite  into  the  fifiite  and 
expressed  in  terms  of  the  finite,  leaving  us  as  ignorant 
as  we  were  before  of  the  Infinite  Absolute  as  such.  This 
knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  us,  it  is  high,  we  cannot 
attain  unto  it. 

4.  We  know  the  Infinite  Absolute  so  far  as  it  has 
revealed  itself  supernaturally.  That  there  is  such  a 
supernatural,  and  written  Revelation,  all  who  accept 
Christianity  are  fully  assured.  By  this  revelation  we 
know  the  Infinite  Absolute  with  a  true  knowledge;  byt 
here  again  that  which  has  been  made  known  has  been 
brought  down  from  the  infinite  absolute  to  the  fi7iite  and 
expressed  in  the  terms  thereof. 

The  Revelation  is  thoroughly  anthropomorphological 
and  negative.     It  is  like  unto  ourselves.     The  concep- 


340  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

linown  tbrougb  tbe  Uncatnatlon 


tion  given  us  of  it  is  as  of  Our  Father,  Friend,  Com- 
panion, Creator  and  Upholder  of  all  intelligent  beings 
and  of  all  things;  Personality  is  within  it,  it  is  a  Spirit 
even  as  we  are.  Every  thing  is  in  the  terms  of  human 
thought  and  human  speech.  Yet  the  Personality  is  not 
such  as  ours;  it  is  a  "One  in  Three  and  a  Three  in 
One;"  the  Infinite  thoughts  and  ways  are  not  as  our 
thoughts  and  ways ;  the  Infinite  One  is  unsearchable, 
past  finding  out;  He  inhabits  Eternity,  while  we  are  in 
Time ;  He  is  The  Invisible,  whom  no  one  hath  seen  and 
whom  no  one  can  see ;  He  is  the  Unknown  and  the  Un- 
knowable. It  is  beyond  the  range  of  our  thought  to 
know  how  that  which  has  been  revealed  after  the  manner 
of  men  and  in  the  terms  of  human  speech,  corresponds 
with,  or  stands  related  to,  how  far  it  agrees  with,  or 
differs  from  the  Infinite  Absolute.  We  only  know  that 
the  finite  thought,  which  has  been  given  to  us,  is  in 
some  sense  real  and  true. 

5.  We  still  further  have  a  knowledge  of  the  Infinite 
Absolute  through  the  Incarnation.  God  became  Man. 
Herein  is  the  most  impenetrable  of  all  Mysteries.  The 
Fact  we  know.  We  cannot  understand,  nor  explain,  nor 
illustrate  it.  It  is  absolutely  unparalleled.  It  is  unique. 
We  can  neither  affirm  nor  deny  its  possibility,  or  impos- 
sibility. We  can  have  no  thought  of  how  the  Divine 
and  the  Human,  the  Infinite  and  the  Finite  are  united, 
of  how  and  why  it  is  that  he  who  hath  seen  and  known 
Christ,  has  seen  and  known  God.  We  only  know  that 
in  Jesus  Christ  the  Infinite  Absolute  has  entered  into  our 
finite  realm  in  a  mysterious  and  peculiar  way,  and  has 
given  us  a  true  knowledge  of  itself;  true  although  this 
knowledge  is  altogether  finite,  although  it  is  according 
to  human  thought  and  is  expressed  in  terms  of  human 
speech,  and  although  the  Infinite  Absolute  as  such 
remains  unknown  and  unknowable. 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  341 

ft  is  TUntbinhablc 


The  only  illustration  and  suggestion  of  this  which  we 
can  give  is  that,  as  because  of  the  vital  union  of  the  Soul 
and  Body,  we  in  looking  upon  the  body  see  the  Soul, 
although  the  Soul  remains  unseen  and  invisible,  so  be- 
cause of  the  living  union  of  the  Divine  and  Human  in 
Christ,  we  in  knowing  Christ  know  the  Infinite  Absolute, 
although  the  Infinite  Absolute,  as  such,  remains  un- 
known and  unknowable.  As  in  Man  the  Spiritual  has  a 
physical  manifestation  which  alone  is  that  which  we  see  ; 
so  in  Christ  the  Infinite  Absolute  has  a  fiyiite  manifesta- 
tion, which  is  all  that  we  know  and  can  know. 

Or,  again,  as  because  of  the  union  of  the  Divine  and 
the  Human,  the  physical  sufferings  of  Christ  were  the 
sufferings  of  the  Infinite  Absolute,  so  because  of  the 
union  of  the  Divine  and  the  Human  in  Christ,  our 
knowledge  of  Christ  is  the  knowledge  of  the  Infinite 
Absolute. 

God  became  Man  in  order  that  He  might  suffer;  God 
became  Man  in  order  that  in  knowing  Christ  we  might 
know  God. 

God,  the  Infinite  Absolute,  cannot  suffer ;  God,  the 
Infinite  Absolute,  is  unktiown  and  unknowable. 

An  all  important  consideration  must  here  be  men- 
tioned. When  it  is  said  that  the  Infinite  Absolute  is 
tmknown  and  unknowable,  it  is  not  meant  that  our 
knowledge  is  simply  hiadequate,  as  though  all  that  is 
needed  is  that  it  be  enlarged.  The  meaning  is  that  the 
Infinite  Absolute  is  unthinkable. 

For  example.  Eternity  is  not  simply  Time  infinitely 
extended  into  the  future  and  backward  into  the  past. 
This  would  not  be  infinite,  for  there  is  a  division  into  two 
parts,  each  of  which  has  a  beginning  from  the  present; 
the  one  from  the  present  onward,  the  other  from  the 
present  backward.  Moreover,  it  would  not  be  absolute 
but    conditioned,    the    conditions    being    the    past,    the 


342  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

mot  Simplis  JBounDleseness 


present  and  the  future,  and  the  changing  relation  of 
these  to  one  another.  Still  further,  Eternity  is  not 
Time,  for  Time  is  finite,  successive,  has  its  beginning 
and  always  an  end,  which  is  ever  lengthening  out,  and 
has  its  divisions  and  subdivisions ;  while  Eternity  is  the 
Infinite  Absolute ;  it  is  not  successive,  has  neither  begin- 
ning nor  end  and  is  without  any  divisions  whatever,  it  is 
entirely  free  from  past,  present  and  future.  We  know 
not  what  it  is,  but  we  know  that  it  is  not  Time ;  it  is  un- 
thinkable. 

Another  example.  Infinite  Absolute  Being  is  not 
simply  Being  infinitely  extended.  Our  being  has  its 
beginning  and  its  lengthening  out  end,  is  dependent  and 
successive.  Infinite  Absolute  Being  is  not  such  as  ours. 
It  is  self-existent,  independent,  without  beginning,  with- 
out end,  without  succession.  We  do  not  know  what  it 
is,  but  it  is  not  such  as  ours ;  it  is  unthiiikable.  Again, 
Infinite  Absolute  Wisdom  is  not  simply  what  we  call 
Wisdom  extended  boundlessly.  Our  Wisdom  has  its 
origin  and  foundation  in  the  immediate  cognition  of 
created  and  finite  realities,  and  is  constructed  out  of 
them  by  processes  of  discursive  reasoning;  we  cannot 
originate  any  thing ;  it  has  its  beginning,  its  advance- 
ment, its  present  lengthening  out  ending.  Infinite 
Absolute  Wisdom  has  no  beginning,  no  advancement, 
no  lengthened  out  ending,  is  not  a  construction  built  up 
from  and  founded  upon  the  immediate  cognition  of  finite 
realities  by  process  of  discursive  reasoning,  but  is  itself 
the  origin  of  all  these  and  of  all  possible  realities. 
Knowing  as  we  do  what  our  Wisdom  is,  we  do  not 
know  what  Infinite  Absolute  Wisdom  is ;  it  is  not  what 
ours  is.  The  activities  and  operations  of  the  Infinite 
Absolute  Intelligence  are  for  us  unthinkable. 

Within  the  realm  of  the  Infinite  Absolute  our  thought 
is  at  zero. 


V  THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  343 

proper  Statement  "Mc  ftnow  Cbrfst 


What  we  have  said  shows  conclusively,  that  the 
Infinite  Absolute  differs  from  the  Finite  radically,  essen- 
tially and  is  not  simply  the  Finite  with  all  limitations 
removed.  The  difference  is  so  great  that,  while  the 
latter  is  known  and  knowable,  the  former  lies  entirely 
beyond  the  utmost  reach  of  our  knowledge. 

All  that  we  have  said  is  simple,  plain ;  it  is  easily 
understood  and  is  self-evidently  true.  The  difficulty  in 
regard  to  the  Infinite  Absolute  arises  from  wrong  state- 
ment and  from  disregard  of  the  fact  that  we  are  strictly 
confined  within  the  realm  of  the  Finite  and  from  the 
consequent  effort  to  attain  the  unattainable.  The  proper 
statement  is,  that  we  know  that  the  Infinite  Absolute  is; 
that  we  know  it  negatively,  that  it  is  not  such  as  is  the 
Finite,  differing  radically,  essentially  from  it;  that  we 
know  it,  as  it  has  manifested  itself  in  Nature,  super- 
naturally  and  in  the  Incarnation ;  yet  we  know  not  what 
the  Infinite  the  Absolute  is,  and  the  only  knowledge 
which  we  can  have  of  the  Infinite  Absolute  is  finite 
expressed  in  terms  of  human  thought  and  speech. 

That  we  might  know  Him,  God  became  Man.  Christ 
is  Immanuel,  God  with  us.  We  know  Christ,  around 
and  upon  Him  our  thoughts  cluster  and  rest  beautifully, 
blessedly,  but  in  the  very  effort  to  rise  higher  and  enter 
into  the  Infinite  Absolute,  thought  is  paralyzed,  it  is 
at  zero. 

A  Partial  Knowledge  Impossible. 

The  popular  thought  is  that,  though  we  cannot  know 
"The  Infinite"  to  perfection,  we  may  have  a  partial 
knowledge  of  it.  This,  however,  is  impossible.  The 
knowledge  which  we  have  may  be  expressed  thus.  We 
know  the  One  who  is  Infinite,  but  we  do  not  and  cannot 
know  The  Infinite. 

We  cannot  be  said  to  have  a  partial  knowledge  of  the 
Infinite. 


344  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

IPartial  IknowlcDflc  TlClbs  Umpossible 


1.  We  have  such  knowledge  of  the  material  world,  be- 
cause it  is  finite,  and  were  our  knowledge  of  it  increased 
it  would  embrace  the  whole.  But  no  knowledge  which 
we  might  have  of  the  Infinite  could  be  so  enlarged,  as  to 
embrace  the  Infinite  itself.  However  much  enlarged  it 
would  be  as  inadequate  as  it  was  at  the  beginning ;  we 
would  no  more  know  the  Infinite  than  at  the  outset.  It 
is  impossible  to  make  an  approach  towards  the  Infinite ; 
in  reference  to  it,  our  highest  thought  is  necessarily  infi- 
nitely less  than  zero. 

2.  The  finite  thought,  which  we  have,  does  not  stand 
related  to  the  Infinite  as  a  part  stands  related  to  the 
whole.  The  Infinite  is  an  indivisible  Unit.  Our  con- 
ception is  only  of  The  One  who  is  infinite,  but  not  of  the 
"  Infinite."  We  cannot  know  God  except  as  He  comes 
forth  from  His  Infinity,  enters  into  our  finite  realm,  and 
adapts  Himself  to  our  finite  ability.  He  comes  to  us  in 
all  the  fubiess  of  His  undivided  and  indivisible  Infinite 
Being,  but  speaking  and  acting  as  a  man.  We  thus  think 
of  Him,  and  our  conception  is  true ;  because  this  is  that 
which  He  has  Himself  given  us  and  is  the  conception  of 
the  One  who  is  infinite,  but  is  neither  in  whole  nor  in 
part,  a  conception  of  The  Infinite.  The  relation  in  which 
it  stands  to  the  Infinite  is  that  of  being  other  than  and 
different  from  it.  Thus,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out, 
finite  being,  wisdom,  power,  and  time  and  space  are 
radically  and  essentially  different  from  the  infinite  being, 
wisdom,  power  and  from  Eternity  and  Infinitude. 

3.  Being  strictly  confined  within  our  own  finite  realm, 
we  cannot  enter  into  the  Infinite  and  have  the  least 
thought  of  it. 

4.  It  is  unquestionably  true,  that  the  Infinite  is  for  us 
unknown  and  unknowable.  The  only  question  is  can 
the  One  who  is  Infinite  make  a  finite  world,  and  finite 
intelligences,  such  as  we  are,  and  give  a  finite  revelation 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  345 

®ur  Ibigbest  ^bougbt  of  ©oJ) 


of  Himself?  That  this  is  impossible  would  be  absurd  for 
us  to  affirm  of  the  Infinite  One,  and  that  He  has  done 
this  we  know  beyond  all  question ;  for  the  world  is,  and 
we  are,  and  the  world  and  ourselves  are  the  finite  revela- 
tion which  He  has  given  of  Himself.  As  we  are  the 
crowning  work  of  His  hands,  within  the  realm  of  our 
knowledge,  we  cannot  rise  higher  in  our  conception  of 
the  Infinite  than  thus  enabled. 

Our  highest  thought  of  God  is  the  thought  of  Him  as 
like  unto  ourselves. 

How  this  finite  revelation  is  possible,  and  how  it 
stands  related  to  the  "Infinite"  of  which  it  is  the  mani- 
festation, we  cannot  think.  It  is  as  impenetrable  a 
mystery  as  is  the  Infinity  itself.  Even  the  supernatural 
revelation,  given  in  the  Bible,  does  not  introduce  us  into 
the  Infinite.  It  is  a  finite  addition  to  the  finite  knowl- 
edge of  it  given  in  Nature;  its  language  and  thoughts 
are  after  the  manner  of  men ;  otherwise,  it  would  be  un- 
intelligible. Its  mysteries  concerning  the  Infinite  com- 
pletely baffle  and  bewilder  all  human  thought,  they  are 
received  by  faith  in  the  Divine  Testimony,  and  are,  and 
can  be  accepted  as  possible  and  true  by  us,  as  intelligent 
beings,  because  thus  revealed  and  because  they  belong  to 
the  realm  of  the  Infinite  where  human  reason  is  power- 
less ;  otherwise  they  would  of  necessity  be  rejected  as 
contradictory  and  impossible.  These  have,  foolishly, 
been  persistently  rejected  as  being  of  this  character  by 
men  of  eminent  intellectual  power  and  culture.  Profess- 
ing themselves,  and  with  good  reason,  to  be  advanced 
thinkers  and  above  their  fellows  in  intelligence,  they  have 
made  themselves  absurd  by  their  own  disregard  of  the 
fundamental  and  inexorable  rule  of  all  humafi  reason, 
"that  it  be  confined  strictly  to  the  finite,"  and  of  the  fact 
that  hence  we  may  accept  as  true  whatever  may  be 
revealed  as  to  the  Infinite,  and  jmist  not  reject  it  because 


346  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

©o&,  tbe  ITnvisible  Seen  in  Cbrist 


to  us  it  is  co7ttradictory . — To  do  this  is  unreasonable. 
Such  men  as  these  have  rejected  the  Trinity,  the  Incar- 
nation, Foreordination,  Election,  Eternal  Punishment  by 
a  God  of  Love,  the  necessity  for  atonement  for  the 
Divine  pardon  of  sinners,  the  resurrection,  etc.,  and  they 
have  claimed  to  take  some  knowledge  and  form,  some 
conception  of  the  Infinite,  and  have  had  all  manner  of 
subtilties  in  regard  to  it,  because  they  do  not  remember 
that  human  thought  is  poiverless  beyond  the  realm  of 
the  finite. 

What  we  have  said,  as  to  our  inability  to  know  the 
Infinite  even  in  part,  is  evidently  in  accord  with  the 
Divine  Revelation,  thus — When  Moses  desired  to  see 
God,  all  that  was  granted  to  him  was  to  see,  not  His 
face,  that  is  not  God  the  Infinite,  but  a  mere  glance  of 
Him  after  He  had  passed  by  and  had  turned  His  back 
upon  him.  It  is  written  "No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any 
time.  The  Only  Begotten  Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Father,  He  hath  declared  Him."  According  to 
Divine  Revelation,  God  is  the  Invisible  One,  that  is  the 
Unknowable  One,  who  is  seen  of  angels  and  of  men  only 
as  He  is  revealed  in  Christ,  God  manifested  in  the  fiesh. 
The  word  see  means  to  knozv  the  reality  itself.  The 
highest  and  fullest  knowledge  of  God  given  to  created 
intelligences  is  the  knowledge  of  him  in  Christ.  All 
other  knowledge  given  to  angels  and  to  men  is  lower, 
not  higher  than  this  ;  but  this  knowledge  is  thoroughly 
finite. 

When  Christ  was  on  Earth  men,  friends  and  foes  alike, 
in  seeing  and  hearing  Him,  the  Man  Jesus,  saw  and 
heard  the  One  who  was  and  is  God,  but  all  that  which 
was  visible  and  audible  was  Christ's  bodily  presence  and 
His  human  voice ;  it  was  the  Man  Jesus  who  was  seen 
and  heard.  In  Christ  the  human  was  the  manifestation 
of  the  Divine,  but  was  not  the  Divine,  nor  a  part  of  it. 


THE  INFINITE  ABSOLUTE  347 

IReal  an5  tTrue  but  onli?  ot  tbc  finite 


So  with  our  finite  knowledge  of  God  we  know  the  One 
who  is  Infinite,  but  all  that  we  know  is  finite;  the  mani- 
festation of  the  Infinite  in  some  mysterious  way,  but  not 
the  knowledge  of  the  Infinite,  not  even  in  part. 

Section  VI     The  Intuition  of  God 

It  is  an  utter  impossibility  for  us  to  have  an  Intuition 
of  the  Infinite  Absolute.  We  would  need  to  be  our- 
selves "Infinite"  for  this.  Though  He  were  present  to 
the  Soul,  the  finite  Soul  could  not  directly  cognize  the 
Infinite  Absolute.  To  say  that  we  did  so  partially  and 
only  partially  is  to  affirm  that  we  cannot  cognize  this ; 
for  a  partial  cognizance  would  be  infinitely  less  than  the 
reality,  which  is  zero.  There  are  certain  senses,  how- 
ever, in  which  it  may  be  said  that  we  have  an  Intuition 
of  God,  who  is  the  Infinite  Absolute.  But  it  will  be 
seen,  that  this  is  something  very  different  from  that 
which  it  is  regarded  as  being  in  the  minds  of  many. 

The  great  bane  of  metaphysicians,  the  fruitful  source 
of  intricate  obscurities,  subtilties,  inconsistencies,  diffi- 
culties, contradictions  and  errors,  has  ever  been  the  vain 
strife,  as  we  have  been  pointing  out,  after  the  impossible, 
the  futile  effort  to  penetrate  the  realm  of  the  Infinite 
Absolute.  The  only  possibility  for  clearness  and  for 
Truth  is  that  we  confine  ourselves  strictly  within  the 
"Finite,"  our  proper  and  only  realm  for  thought  and 
knowledge.  In  speaking  of  our  Intuition  of  God,  we 
must  restrict  our  thought  to  the  Finite.  It  will  appear 
that  the  Intuition  is  only  of  that  which  is  Finite.  Our 
knowledge,  however,  of  God  is  real  and  true,  because, 
although  we  do  not  know  the  Infinite  Absolute,  we 
know  the  One,  who  is  in  Himself  the  Infinite  Absolute. 

When  Christ  lived  on  earth  men  saw  and  heard  and 
handled  Him.  In  so  doing  they  directly  cognized  Him. 
This  was  an  Intuition  of  God.     But  it  was  strictly  finite,. 


348  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec 

C;beopbantes,  TKHorfts,  flmpulscs  in  tbe  Soul 


as  much  so  as  when,  in  Hke  manner,  they  directly  cog- 
nized their  fellow-men.  In  thus  cognizing  Christ,  though 
they  cognized  Christ's  bodily  presence  only,  they  cog- 
nized Him  who  is  God.  When  God  spoke  to  Moses  by 
an  audible  voice  from  the  midst  of  the  shining  light  in 
the  bush,  Moses  had  an  Intuition  of  God,  but  the  direct 
cognizance  was  only  of  the  physical  light  and  sound. 

Again,  men  have  an  Intuition  of  God  in  having  a 
direct  cognizance  of  His  works.  It  is  by  Intuition  that 
we  take  the  knowledge  of  the  realities  of  the  Material 
World,  but  these,  being  the  creatures  of  God,  are  a  reve- 
lation of  Him.  In  knowing  these  things  we  know  Him 
who  is  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute,  but  the  Intuition  is 
only  of  His  finite  works.  We  have  a  still  further  and  a 
higher  Intuition  of  God  by  the  direct  cognizance  of  our 
spiritual  selves  as  His  workmanship ;  but  here  again  the 
Intuition  is  thoroughly  finite  and  of  the  finite. 

There  is  yet  another  way  in  which  we  may  be  said  to 
have  an  Intuition  of  God.  This,  however,  cannot  be 
positively  af^rmed  scientifically.  We  believe  in  it  as  an 
actual  reality,  but  the  complete  scientific  proof  of  the 
fact  may  be  wanting.  There  is  no  doubt  as  to  the  fact 
itself,  but  only  as  to  the  proof  of  its  real  character.  There 
are  certain  impulses,  promptings,  directions  and  guidance 
of  thought,  emotions,  restraints,  longings  and  aspirations 
within  the  Soul  which  are  due  to  the  direct  action  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  In  so  far  as  this  is  their  true  character,  by 
our  direct  cognition  of  them  we  have  an  Intuition  of 
God ;  but  this  is  a  finite  knowledge  of  these  finite  things. 

It  must  be  distinctly  noted,  however,  that  the  Intuition 
is  only  of  these  things  within  the  Soul,  but  not  of  their 
character  as  due  to  the  Spirit  of  God.  We  cannot  dis- 
tinguish between  these  and  similar  ones  arising  from  our- 
selves. Hence  these,  although  in  fact  a  true  Intuition  of 
God,  cannot  be  referred  to,  to  account  for  the  origin  and 


VI  THE  INTUITION  OF  GOD  349 

Soul*a:b(r0t  for  (5oD 


the  maintenance  of  the  thought  of  God  within  men.  Yet, 
as  a  fact,  it  may  be  that  it  ever  has  had  much  to  do  with 
both  of  these.  If  there  have  ever  been  certain  impulses, 
emotions,  with  direction,  but  not  the  imparting  of 
thought  which  is  never  the  case,  within  the  Souls  of  men 
due  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  men,  though  they  knew  not  the 
source  whence  these  come,  may  thereby  have  ever  been 
lifted  up  Godward.  This,  however,  has  varied  in  differ- 
ent men  according  to  the  various  degrees  in  which  the 
Divine  Spirit  has  acted  upon  them. 

This  may  be  the  true  character  and  account  of  that 
which  has  made  such  a  deep  impression  upon  the  mind 
of  many  of  the  most  noted  philosophers.  They  speak  of 
man's  religious  nature  or  instinct,  constitutional  tendency 
Godward,  religious  appetencies,  a  native  soul-thirst  for 
God,  a  want,  a  need,  a  search  of  the  Soul  for  an  adequate 
object  in  which  to  rest.  All  this  is  mysterious,  mystic, 
uncertain,  unaccounted  for,  but  it  becomes  perfectly 
simple  and  plain,  if  we  be  allowed  to  refer  these  things 
to  the  influence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  dwelling  with  or 
within  the  human  soul.  This  we  believe  to  be  in  a  large 
measure  true,  yet  it  is  certainly  the  introduction  of  the 
supernatural,  and  hence  may  be  regarded  as  beyond  the 
province  of  Science.  But  the  fact  mentioned  must  not 
be  lost  sight  of,  that  this  Intuition  of  God  is  only  the  in- 
tuition of  certain  finite  things  within  the  Soul. 

Here  we  might  go  a  step  further  beyond  Science  and 
towards  the  Supernatural,  and  speak  of  God's  Immanence 
in  Nature  and  His  Living  Presence  with,  or  within  the 
Soul  of  Man. 

We  have  already  pointed  out,  that  for  the  Intuitive 
Perception  of  external  things  they  must  be  properly  pre- 
sented by  the  organs  of  Perception,  and,  also,  that  for 
the  Intuitive  Perception  of  the  things  of  Self  these  must 
also  be  properly  presented.     It  may  be   that  were  the 


350  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

(BoD's  Hmmanencc  in  IFlaturc 


Soul  of  another,  in  some  way,  properly  presented  to  us 
within,  we  might  have  an  Intuitive  Perception  of  such  a 
Soul  so  far  as  it  was  thus  presented.  This  is  not  alto- 
gether a  mere  supposition.  There  are  certain  indications 
of  it  as  a  reality.  Some  have  claimed  that  simply  by 
looking  fixedly  and  with  a  purpose  at  a  person,  who  is 
unconscious  of  their  presence,  they  have  power  to  so  in- 
fluence him  that  he  will  become  conscious  of  and  turn 
and  look  towards  them.  There  are  also  supreme  mo- 
ments of  intense  rapture,  when  two  kindred  Souls  are 
looking  into  one  another's  eyes  and  seem  to  see  into  the 
very  depths  of  one  another's  being.  Soul  beholding  Soul. 

It  would  at  least  seem,  that  there  is  no  inherent  im- 
possibility of  one  Soul  knowing  another  by  Intuitive 
Perception,  if  the  latter  were  properly  presented  to  it. 
Hence,  also,  it  is  allowable  to  suppose  the  possibility  of 
our  having  such  a  Perception  of  God  were  He  properly 
presented  to  us  for  this  purpose;  but  the  question  is,  can 
this  be  and  in  what  sense? 

In  these  days  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Immanence  is 
becoming  more  widespread  and  is  taking  a  firmer  hold 
upon  the  minds  of  men  in  general.  But  this  includes  the 
presence  of  God  with,  or  within  the  Soul  of  man.  This 
is  the  old,  old  Truth  of  our  religion,  laid  down  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  beautifully  enforced  in  the  New,  and 
has  ever  been  the  life  and  the  joy  of  the  Christian.  God's 
promise  is  to  dwell  with  His  people;  Christ  says,  "  Lo  I 
am  with  you  alway;"  Christ  lives  with  the  Christian; 
the  Christian  lives  in  intimate  fellowship  with  God. 
Strange  that  this  old  Truth  is,  in  these  days,  presented 
as  a  new  Truth  of  the  Age ! 

If  God  be  thus  present  with,  or  within  the  Soul  of  man, 
holding  fellowship  with  him,  if  he  be  a  Christian,  may  He 
so  present  Himself  that  we  may  directly  cognize  Him? 

In  reply,  it  may  be  said,  that  it  certainly  is  not  an 


VI  THE  INTUITION  OF  GOD  351 

(3oD  iPrcsent  but  IFnvtsible 


actuality.  It  may  readily  be,  that  God's  presence  and 
fellowship  with  His  people  find  their  present  fulfilment, 
as  far  as  their  consciousness  is  concerned,  in  the  emo- 
tions, impulses,  etc.,  with  which  He  inspires  them.  Still 
further  it  is  certainly  true  that  God  does  not  to  any  prac- 
tical degree  so  present  Himself  to  the  Soul,  that  it  may 
directly  cognize  Him.  Men,  as  is  well  known,  have  no 
such  consciousness.  So  far  from  "seeing"  God,  even  in 
the  most  ecstatic  moments,  they  now  behold  Him  by 
faith  and  look  forward  to  some  kind  of  vision  of  Him  in 
the  world  beyond.  Even  if  in  moments  of  high  ecstacy, 
it  be  claimed,  that  there  may  be  a  direct  cognizance  of 
God,  such  instances  are  of  extremest  rarity  and  the  In- 
tuition, which  is  claimed  to  exist,  reveals  nothing  that  is 
not  otherwise  known  and  the  experience  may  be  ex- 
plained as  in  reality  only  a  full  assurance  of  that  which 
is  known  already.  In  the  7iext  place,  it  is  also  certainly 
true  that,  even  if  there  be  any  direct  cognizance  of  God 
by  the  Soul,  it  is  thoroughly  anthropomorphic  and 
finite;  it  is  certain  that  this  must  be  the  nature  of  the 
presentation,  if  there  be  any  such,  of  God  to  the  Soul  for 
its  cognition.  The  unquestionable  fact  is  that  men  have 
no  other  knowledge  of  God. 

The  Infinite  Absolute  Personal  God  may  in  virtue  of 
His  Immanence  be  present  to  the  Soul  in  the  complete 
fulness  of  His  Being,  but  He  is  essentially  the  Invisible 
One.  This  is  the  positive  affirmation  of  Scripture  and 
the  assured  Truth  of  Science,  except  as  He  gives  in 
some  way  a  suitable  finite  presentation  of  Himself.  This 
is  true  in  reference  to  angels  as  well  as  to  human  souls. 
Hence  the  Incarnation  of  God  in  Christ.  God  became 
Incarnate  that  He  might  be  seen  of  angels  and  of  men. 

Thus  the  Truth  stands  as  to  the  Vision  of  God,  who  is 
present  within  the  Soul.  We  cannot  deny  the  possibility 
of  such  Intuition,  provided  God  gives  a  suitable,  finite, 


352  VII      INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Dlsion  of  XLbc  ©nc  wbo  is  Ifnfinite 


presentation  of  Himself;  but  men  have  no  consciousness 
of  seeing  God  except  by  faith ;  nothing  has  ever  been 
known  of  God  by  Intuition  of  His  Presence  within  the 
Soul,  even  if  there  be  such  Intuition,  which  is  not  already 
known  otherwise;  and  we  have  no  knowledge  of  God 
that  is  not  finite  and  anthropomorphic ;  if  God  ever  has  so 
presented  Himself  to  the  human  Soul  that  it  may  directly 
cognize  Him,  He  has  done  this  in  some  finite  manner 
according  to  the  fashion,  or  likeness  of  the  human  Soul 
itself.  It  must  be  noted  here,  that  we  are  now  speaking 
of  that,  which  is  supernatural. 

To  sum  up  what  we  have  said — It  is  impossible  for  the 
human  Soul  to  directly  cognize  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute ; 
the  only  Intuition  which  we  can  have  is  of  ^ke  One  who 
is  the  Infinite,  the  Absolute,  and  is  an  Intuition  only  of 
His  works  in  Nature ;  of  ourselves  as  His  workmanship, 
and  of  certain  states  and  activities  within  the  Soul  which 
are  due  to  the  Divine  Spirit;  and  an  Intuition  of  Him  in 
the  finite,  anthropomorphic  presentations  of  Himself 
which  He  may  give  us,  the  only  known  instances  of 
which  are  the  Theophanies  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
especially  Jesus  Christ. 

Section  VII     Life 

We  have  an  Intuitive  Perception  of  Life. 

Life  is  one  of  the  most  familiar  of  all  things  and  our 
conception  of  it  is  clear  and  definite.  We  know  what  it 
is  for  plants  and  animals  and  ourselves  to  live,  and  what 
it  is  for  living  things  to  die.  There  is  no  obscurity  in 
the  thought  of  Immortality ;  a  little  child  readily  appre- 
hends what  is  meant  by  the  continued  Lite  of  the  Soul 
after  the  body  is  dead  ;  and  there  is  no  difficulty  in  think- 
ing of  "The  Living  God,"  the  Author  and  Giver  of  Life. 

Yet  Life  is  the  Great  Enigma,  though  unnecessarily 
such.     In  the  minds  of  men   it  has  been  invested  with 


VI  INTUITION  OF  GOD  353 

*'  ^bat  mbicb  Us  "  %ix>cs 


the  deepest  mystery,  into  which  they  have  endeavored  in 
vain  to  penetrate.  The  whole  difficulty  lies  in  a  great 
and  obvious  mistake,  that  of  supposing  that  we  can  go 
below  and  look  beneath  manifested  facts,  fundamental 
truths  intuitively  known.  All  Science  is  constructed  out 
of  observed  facts,  as  truly  as  a  marble  palace  is  built  out 
of  blocks  of  marble.  Its  primary  work  is  to  gather  the 
facts ;  this  is  its  starting  point,  to  which  there  is  for  it 
nothing  a  priori,  except  the  mystery  of  the  creation  of 
finite  things  endowed  with  their  forces  and  activities,  and 
the  Self-Existence  of  the  Infinite.  This  great  mystery 
rests  upon  all  things,  upon  Life  in  no  degree  more  than 
upon  every  thing  else.  We  know  Life  just  as  well  as  we 
know  Substance,  Being,  Solidity,  Extension,  Magnetism, 
Electricity,  Gravitation,  Chemical  and  Mechanical  Forces. 
We  understand  these  fundamental  things,  simply  by  dis- 
covering and  observing  the  facts  presented  by  them.  In 
like  manner  and  equally  we  understand  Life  and  pene- 
trate the  deeper  into  it  according  as  we  learn  the  facts 
concerning  it,  or,  in  other  words,  its  manifestations,  or 
phenomena.  To  look  beneath  these  and  ask  "  What  is 
Life"  is  as  impossible  as  to  look  beneath  the  facts  of 
Electricity  and  ask  "What  Electricity  is?" 

As,  therefore,  there  is  no  special  mystery  about  Life, 
we  may  readily  think  and  speak  of  it  as  we  intuitively 
know  it.  In  briefest  fashion,  it  may  be  said  to  be  the 
same  as  "Being."  Not  "Being"  in  the  abstract,  nor  as 
a  separate  quality,  but  in  the  concrete,  "The  thing  in 
being,"  the  thing  existing — "That  which  is  lives."  It 
might  be  defined  "Actual  Being,"  or  "Concrete  Being." 
Accordingly,  every  individual  thing,  that  is  every  "  En- 
tity" lives,  has  life,  is  itself  Life.  It  lives  as  long  as  it  is 
an  Entity  in  its  unimpaired  integrity.  It  dies  by  destruc- 
tion, by  ceasing  to  be.  A  little  consideration  will  show 
that  this  is  obviously  the  truth. 

23 


354  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

*♦  ITnanimate  C^blngs  "  bavc  Xife 


All  so-called  Inanimate  Objects  have  their  Life,  as  truly 
as  the  things  which  are  usually  designated  as  ''  living y 
There  is  no  need  of  changing  established  distinctions  and 
phraseology,  as  we  shall  point  out,  but  in  maintaining 
these  it  must  not  be  denied,  that  the  so-called  inanimate, 
material  world  is  truly  alive.  By  creative  power  it  was 
brought  into  being  and  endowed  with  all  its  properties ; 
while  it  continues  to  be  it  lives,  should  it  be  destroyed 
it  dies.  A  drop  of  Water  lives  as  long  as  it  exists; 
should  tlid  union  of  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  be  broken 
and  they  become  separate  gases  the  water,  with  its  pecu- 
liar properties,  dies,  it  no  longer  is.  A  piece  of  charcoal 
lives  while  it  remains  as  such  with  its  qualities,  but  it 
ceases  to  be  when  by  fire  it  becomes  carbonic  acid  gas 
and  a  few  ashes ;  the  charcoal  is  dead,  it  has  ceased  to 
be.  Thus  of  everything  in  Nature  and  iii  Art  also.  A 
fine  piece  of  marble  statuary  lives  as  long  as  it  continues ; 
if  ground  to  powder,  or  burnt  into  shapeless  lime  it  is 
dead,  for  it  no  longer  exists.  Thus  also  a  piece  of  me- 
chanism, as  a  locomotive  engine,  lives  as  long  as  it  lasts, 
but  when  destroyed  it  dies.  There  is  more  truth  in  cer- 
tain phrases  used  in  reference  to  all  these  things,  than 
that  of  a  mere  figure  of  speech.  It  is  often  said,  for  ex- 
ample, of  a  steamship,  or  of  a  locomotive,  it  has  a  life  of 
so  many  years.  Astronomers  speak  of  living  and  of 
dead  worlds;  they  call  our  Moon  dead,  it  has  run  its 
course,  its  activities  have  ended;  it  has  ceased  to  be  the 
world  which  it  once  was.  In  Art,  the  expression  "  Still- 
Life"  is  frequently  employed  and  also  "Life-Size"  when 
speaking  of  paintings,  models  and  drawings  of  so-called 
inanimate  things.  These  things  according  to  the  defini- 
tion of  Life  which  we  have  given  are  truly  alive. 

The  definition  applies  to  Vegetable  Life.  A  Plant 
lives  as  long  as  it  exists,  and  dies  by  ceasing  to  be. 
Science  has  unfolded  in  a  marvellous  way  the  wonders  of 


VII  LIFE  355 

plants  %ix>e  b^  SQciriQ  Timbat  Zhc^  are 


plant  activity.  This  is  our  knowledge  of  its  Life.  The 
Vegetable  cell  is  a  created,  material  construction,  en- 
dowed with  its  own  peculiar  forces,  by  which  all  its 
organic  processes  are  performed.  The  activities  of  the 
mere  mineral  world  can?iot  construct  the  vegetable  cell 
and  endow  it  with  its  peculiar  forces.  These  organic 
forces  inhere  in  the  "construction"  and  iii  it  alo?ie  and 
are  derived  from  original  endowment  by  the  Creator, 
just  as  mere  mineral  forces  inhere  in  inorganic  things  by 
virtue  of  their  original  endowment  with  them  by  the 
Creator. 

Hence  it  is  that,  while  the  plant  cell  continues  in  its 
essential  unimpaired  integrity  it  lives,  but  if  it  be  disinte- 
grated it  dies;  it  ceases  to  be,  its  original,  inherent 
forces  are  irreparably  lost,  they  no  longer  are. 

The  case  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  of  the  drop  of 
Water.  This  has  its  peculiar,  inherent  forces  and  activi- 
ties ;  it  may  be  ice,  a  fluid,  or  a  vapor,  each  with  its 
peculiar  properties.  But  if  resolved  into  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  gases  all  these  vanish  away,  they  no  longer  are. 
In  the  one  case,  we  have  the  constructed  cell  and  its 
original,  inherent,  peculiar,  forces  and  activities ;  in  the 
other,  we  have  the  drop  of  Water,  with  its  peculiar  in- 
herent, forces ;  and  life  and  death,  in  both  cases  alike, 
are  simply  the  "being"  and  "not  being"  in  unimpaired, 
essential  integrity,  of  the  thing  which  is  or  is  not.  The 
Plant  does  not  differ  from  the  "mineral"  by  having  a 
mysterious  something  which  is  "Life,"  which  the  min- 
eral has  not  and  which  goes  forth  from  it  when  it  dies. 
They  differ  simply  in  their  own  characters ;  the  one  is 
organic,  with  its  peculiar  forces ;  the  other  is  inorganic 
with  the  forces  peculiar  to  itself.  They  both  live,  as  long 
as  they  continue  and  die  by  ceasing  to  be. 

It  is  in  perfect  accord  with  this  view  of  Plant  Life, 
that  seeds  and   cuttings  have  a  prolonged  vitality  in  a 


356  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

2>ormant  Xlfe  Wital  jfovce 


dormant  state,  some  seed  even  for  thousands  of  years; 
and  some  plants  may  be  withered,  hard  and  dry,  appar- 
ently dead  and  yet  spring  forth  into  activity  and  growth. 
If  the  cell  in  its  essential  structure  be  preserved  it 
retains  its  peculiar,  inherent  forces  from  which  it  is 
inseparable,  just  as  the  inorganic  mineral  objects,  such  as 
gold,  silver,  retain  those  which  belong  to  them,  and 
when  afforded  light,  heat  and  moisture  these  forces  be- 
come active  and  perform  their  wonderful  processes  of 
growth,  flowering,  fruitage,  reproduction.  The  fact  of 
this  prolonged,  deeply  dormant,  or  apparently  thoroughly 
dead  state  of  the  plant,  has  recently  been  scientifically 
examined  and  emphasized. 

What  we  have  said  holds  good  whatever  be  the  nature 
of  Vital  force.  That  there  is  vital  force  is  assuredly  true. 
There  are  vital  phenomena  and  these  necessarily  require 
force,  or  forces  by  which  they  are  produced.  This  force 
is  in  some  true  sense  resident  within  and  connected  with 
the  organic  cell.  While  the  cell  with  its  forces  continues 
it  lives,  but  if  it  be  disintegrated  and  its  forces  dissipated 
it  dies,  it  no  longer  is.  Hence  also  its  life  may  be  dor- 
mant for  an  indefinite  period,  because  its  forces  may  be 
at  the  rest  of  equilibrium  with  one  another,  or  with  those 
which  are  external.  Thus  a  seed  may  be  dormant,  be- 
cause its  forces  are  in  equilibrium  with  the  resistance 
due  to  dryness  and  coolness.  When  given  moisture  and 
heat  the  equilibrium  is  destroyed  and  the  cell  forces  start 
into  activity  and  into  co-operation  with  those  external 
to  it. 

There  are  three  suppositions  which  may  be  and  which 
have  been  more  or  less  distinctly  made  as  to  the  nature 
of  vital  force.  The  one  is  that  it  is  a  totally  New  Force, 
created  and  implanted  within  the  organic  cell  by  act  of 
the  Creator.  This,  however,  would  necessitate  a  direct 
divine  act    of   creation,   not   only   for   the   original    cell, 


VII  LIFE  357 

I  a  IFlew  jforce  2  U  "Clnlon  3  Co-operation 


but  for  every  cell  which  has  ever  been  or  will  be  formed 
and  is  imphilosophical  because  needless.  Another  sup- 
position is,  that  the  vital  force  is  new  in  a  secondary  sense 
of  the  term,  that  is  a  force  formed  by  the  peculiar  Union 
of  certain  material  forces,  and  existing  only  as  resident 
within  the  organic  cell.  The  primordial  cell  was  from 
the  direct  act  of  divine  creation,  both  as  a  structure  and 
as  endowed  with  this  new  force,  the  peculiar  union  of 
other  forces.  By  the  process  of  growth  and  of  reproduc- 
tion the  organic  structure  with  its  endowment  of  this 
force  is  continually  multiplied  and  perpetuated. 

The  third  supposition  is,  that  the  Vital  Force  is  the 
resultant  of  the  Peculiar  Co-operation  of  material  forces 
within  the  cell  with  one  another  and  with  external  forces. 
The  primordial  cell  both  in  its  structure  and  with  this 
peculiar  co-operation  of  material  forces  within  it,  was  by 
the  direct  act  of  Divine  creation,  and  by  growth  and  re- 
production is  continually  multiplied  and  perpetuated, 
deriving  material  and  forces  from  food  supply.  This  is 
the  view  which  has  most  in  its  favor  and  which  we  adopt 
as  presenting  our  present  extent  of  knowledge.  It  may 
be  regarded  as  including  all  that  might  be  gained  by  the 
second  supposition,  and  as  being  hardly,  if  at  all,  dis- 
tinguishable from  it.  A  union  of  forces  forming  a  new 
force  must  to  our  mind  be  practically  the  same  as  a  pecu- 
liar, mysterious,  inexplicable  and  most  intimate  and  won- 
derful co-operation  of  forces.  Moreover,  it  is  evident 
that  the  forces  resident  within  the  organic  cell  co-operate 
with  those  which  are  external  to  it,  notably  with  moist- 
ure, heat  and  light;  these  are  not  to  be  regarded  as 
stimulants,  exciting  the  germ  forces  into  activity,  but  as 
forces  overthrowing  their  equilibrium  within  the  dormant 
cell  and  co-operating  with  them. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  vital  activities  and  phenomena 
are  due  to  the  co-operation  of  the  internal  and  external 


358  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec 

tDltalfti5  in  tbe  ©rganic  (5crm 

forces,  but  that  the  vital  characteristic  belongs  to  the 
organic  structure  and  its  resident  forces.  Moisture,  heat 
and  Hght  are  essential  as  co-operating  forces,  yet  in  and 
of  themselves  they  have  no  vital  power.  They  may 
co-operate  with  one  another  and  with  other  forces  any- 
where and  everywhere,  but  can  never  produce  vital 
phenomena,  except  as  they  co-operate  with  the  forces  of 
the  living  cell ;  acting  on  the  cell  without  such  co-opera- 
tion they  produce  decay  and  destruction.  The  Vitality 
is  due  to  the  organic  germ.  Vitality  is  its  peculiar  pro- 
perty. It  is  a  structure  with  its  endowment  of  forces  in 
unique  co-operation  with  one  another  and  with  those 
which  are  external,  a  structure  and  co-operation  possible 
only  within  the  cell  and  springing  only  from  its  self- 
reproduction.. 

Ths  strange  affirmation  has  been  made  that  the  organic 
cell  has  no  forces,  is  simply  a  mechanical  structure,  giv- 
ing direction  to  external  forces — "The  germ  supplies 
not  the  force  but  the  directive  agency,"  that  it  conse- 
quently has  no  life  in  itself,  but  becmnes  alive  when 
external  forces  act  upon  it  and  are  by  it  directed  to  the 
production  of  vital  phenomena;  and  t\\dX  Donnant  Vital- 
ity is  impossible  and  absurd.  This  statement  is  confused 
and  objectionable.  It  disregards  the  fact  that  the  germ 
has  directive  agency  only  because  of  its  own  resident 
forces,  and  that,  as  these  are  the  determining  vital  factor, 
the  Vitality  belongs  to  them ;  the  external  forces  such  as 
moisture,  heat,  light  have  in  and  of  themselves  no  vital 
power,  but  only  as  directed  by  the  vital  forces  of  the 
germ  through  co-operation  with  them,  just  as  "gravity" 
has  in  itself  no  time-keeping  power ;  in  a  clock  the  tiyne- 
keeping  is  due  not  to  the  gravity  supplied  by  the 
weights,  but  to  the  resident  and  co-operating  forces  of 
the  clock  mechanism.  For  long  ages  moisture,  heat, 
light,   etc.,   were    in    the   world,   but    there  was  no  life. 


VII  LIFE  359 

Xife  flcnovvn  in  Hts  pbenomena 

This  began  only  when  the  organic  cell  with  its  forces, 
made  by  divine  creative  act  from  existing  material  and 
forces,  was  introduced.  As  time-keeping  is  not  in 
gravity  but  in  the  clock  and  its  forces,  so  Vitality  is  not 
in  moisture,  heat,  light,  etc.,  but  in  the  germ  and  its 
forces.  It  is,  therefore,  wrong  to  deny  life  to  the  germ 
and  to  affirm  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  Dormant 
Vitality.  The  Germ  is  dormant  when  its  forces  are  at 
the  rest  of  equilibrium  with  one  another,  or  with  those 
which  are  external. 

It  has  been  maintained  that  the  tendency  of  the 
organic  structure  is  to  decay  and  that  the  decay  evolves 
vital  force.  Were  this  so  there  could  be  no  growth  and 
reproduction,  for  the  amount  of  force  thus  evolved 
would  suffice  only  for  the  repair  of  the  damage  done  by 
decay.  If  decay  be  a  necessary  factor  in  the  life  process, 
it  may  act  possibly  by  overthrowing  the  equilibrium  of 
the  germ  forces  and  thus  starting  them  into  activity,  or, 
perhaps  the  decay  may,  as  has  been  suggested,  so  act 
upon  the  food  supply  as  to  liberate  force  from  it  which 
will  co-operate  with  the  resident  germ  forces. 

From  what  we  have  thus  said,  this  is  evidently  true, 
there  is  resident  within  the  organic  structure  a  force, 
which  by  co-operation  with  external  forces  produces  the 
phenomena  of  Life  ;  we  know  it  by  knowing  its  pheno- 
mena, its  facts,  as  well  as  we  know  any  thing  else,  thus 
we  know  organic  Life ;  the  Cell  lives  by  being  what  it  is, 
it  lives  as  long  as  its  structune  and  forces  continue,  and 
dies  by  these  ceasing  to  be. 

The  same  Definition  applies  to  Animal  Life.  The  es- 
sential character  of  the  animal  is  the  union  of  a  material 
organism  with  an  indwelling  spirit.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  "  spontaneous  generation."  The  animal,  a  spirit 
and  a  body  in  union,  is  a  created  being  with  original  en- 
dowment of  its  peculiar  organic   and    spiritual  powers. 


3,60  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

trbc  "  "JLitc"  of  Bnimals,  /iRen,  angels, 


As  long  as  Mw  created  being  continues  in  its  unimpaired, 
essential  integrity  it  lives,  and  dies  only  by  ceasing  to  be. 
Our  knowledge  of  animal  Iz/e  is  our  knowledge  of  the 
organic  structure,  the  indwelling  soul,  the  union  of  these 
and  the  peculiar  organic  and  spiritual  powers  inherent  in 
the  animal.  The  peculiar  forces  inhere  in  and  are  insep- 
arable from  the  animal,  formed  of  soul  and  body  in  union, 
and  are  found  nowhere  else,  and  they  are  or  are  not,  ac- 
cording as  the  animal  exists  unimpaired  or  ceases  to  be. 

Hence  it  is  that  animal  life  may  possibly  be  dormant 
and  even  for  long  periods.  Fish  and  reptiles  may  be 
frozen  hard  and  remain  thus  for  an  indefinite  time  and 
come  to  activity  again  upon  being  thawed  out.  Frogs, 
it  is  claimed,  have  been  found  embedded  in  solid  stone 
where  they  have  been  imprisoned  for  thousands  of  years, 
and  have  started  into  active  life  upon  being  released  from 
their  imprisonment.  This  is,  because  the  structure  of 
these  creatures,  as  an  organism  in  union  with  an  indwell- 
ing spirit,  has  been  preserved  in  its  essential  integrity 
with  the  original  endowment  of  its  powers.  The  hiber- 
nation of  bears  and  other  animals  afiford  illustrations  of 
the  same  thing. 

As  the  distinctive  and  essential  characteristic  of  animal 
life  is  the  union  of  a  spirit  and  a  body,  the  life  of  the  an- 
imal is  distinctly  the  continuation  of  that  union;  its  death 
is  the  dissolution  of  it  When  this  union  is  broken  the 
animal  ceases  to  be. 

Again,  the  Definition  is  true  of  human  Life,  both  of 
the  Life  of  man  incarnate  and  of  him  as  a  disembodied 
Spirit.  As  long  as  the  union  of  Soul  and  Body  abides 
the  man  lives  and  the  moment  this  union  is  dissolved 
death  ensues,  man  as  an  incarnate  being  no  longer  is. 
There  is  no  going  forth  of  a  mysterious  something, 
"Life;"  there  is  simply  the  "  ceasing  to  be"  of  that  which 
was.     The  union  of  soul  and  body  is  no  more,  all  the 


vii  LIFE  361 

©oJ)  is  "  C^bcir  JSeing  Mbat  tbeg  are  " 


peculiar  activities  resulting  from  it  come  to  an  end;  the 
body  rapidly  disintegrates,  its  peculiar  forces  vanish,  for 
they  have  their  being  only  in  the  animal  organism.  The 
Soul  of  Man  is  a  created  Being  with  endowment  of  in- 
herent powers  of  thought,  emotion,  will.  His  Life  con- 
sists in  ''his  being  such  an  one"  and  his  death  is  only  in 
annihilation.  While  I  have  my  being  I  live.  Precisely 
the  same  thing  is  true  of  Angelic  Life.  Angels  live  by 
being  what  they  are. 

This  is  also  true  of  the  Life  of  God.  He  lives  because 
He  was  and  is  and  evermore  shall  be.  No  other  con- 
ception of  His  Life  is  possible.  He  also  is  the  Author 
and  Giver  of  all  Life,  because  He  has  created  all  things 
and  all  intelligent  creatures,  with  the  endowment  of  all 
their  inherent  peculiar  powers,  and  they  all  live  because 
they  have  their  being  in  Him ;  their  Life  is  their  being 
what  they  are. 

The  Conception  of  Life  which  we  have  thus  given,  is 
perfectly  simple,  clear,  definite  and  most  readily  appre- 
hended.    Life  is  ''the  thing  in  being.'' 

According  to  this,  as  already  pointed  out,  even  so 
called  inanimate  things  are  alive.  This  will  be  better 
appreciated  when  the  true  character  of  the  material 
world  is  considered.  Material  things  are  not  thrown 
together  at  random  and  independently  of  one  another. 
All  things  are  themselves  combinations  and  are  system- 
atically bound  together  in  united  wholes.  The  World  is 
not  Chaos,  but  an  intricate  Cosmos.  Every  sun  is  a 
built  up  world  with  its  own  activities  and  processes ; 
they  form  systems  of  worlds  and  these  are  formed 
together  in  One  Great  Universe.  Our  Sun,  with  its 
planets,  is  a  system  of  its  own,  a  closely  united  whole 
made  up  of  many  and  varied  interacting  members.  It 
had  its  beginning,  or  birth  ;  it  has  had  a  gradual  develop- 
ment, or  growth,  is  going  onward  to  an   end,  when   it 


362  VII      INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Zbe  /Iftineral  WorlD  an  ©rsanic  XDinit 


will  cease  to  be.  Our  Earth  is  an  organized  Unit.  It 
is  a  globe,  revolving  on  its  axis  with  its  special  inclina- 
tion giving  it  days  and  nights  and  seasons.  It  has  its 
orderly  distribution  of  continents  and  seas,  with  moun- 
tains and  plains,  water  courses  and  ocean  currents.  It 
has  its  atmosphere  with  systematic  circulation  of  winds, 
the  forming  and  moving  of  clouds  and  rains  and  snows. 
All  things  in  unceasing  activity,  working  together  for 
one  common  end.  It  had  its  birth,  it  has  evolved  from 
the  original  Nebula  as  a  bird  evolves  from  the  ^%^.,  its 
processes  are  carried  onward,  it  is  maturing,  growing 
old,  moving  ever  steadily  on  to  extinction,  to  death. 

This  inadequate  presentation  of  the  true  character  of 
the  World  is  a  vivid  picture  of  Life  and  its  activities, 
expressed  most  naturally,  and  readily  in  the  terms 
thereof — birth,  evolution,  development,  members,  orga- 
nization, circulation,  processes,  growth,  maturing,  end- 
less variations,  age,  death.  Still  further,  the  various 
things  with  which  we  are  acquainted  are  in  large  meas- 
ure structures  produced  by  material  forces  and  activities. 
The  Rocks  are  composite  constructions,  crystaline, 
laminated,  etc.;  they  had  their  beginning  and  develop- 
ment, and  are  exposed  to  and  suffer  disintegration, 
destruction,  death.  Sands,  earths,  water,  air  are  com- 
posite formations,  having  as  such  their  origin,  develop- 
ment, activities,  decomposition,  extinction,  death.  The 
elemental  substances  themselves,  in  their  present  forms, 
had  their  origin  as  existing  units  and  as  such  have  their 
peculiar  properties  and  activities,  and  may  cease  to  be ; 
they  are  born,  they  live,  they  die. 

Thus  the  "  mineral "  world,  in  its  true  character, 
approaches  so  near  to  what  is  called  the  organic  and 
animated  world,  that  the  two  seem  to  coalesce  and  the 
distinction  between  them  as  inorganic  and  organic  and 
as    inanimate   and   animate    disappears.     They  are    both 


VII  LIFE  363 

ITbc  (3reat  /llb^etcri?  of  *'  %ite  " 


organic,  living  structures  endowed  each  with  its  peculiar 
forces  and  activities.  The  plant  differs  from  these  other 
material  things,  not  in  having  an  unknown,  mysterious 
something  which  is  "  Life,"  but  in  being  a  created  struc- 
ture of  a  higher,  and  more  delicate  character,  a  thing 
which  the  mineral  world  is  incapable  of  producing, 
endowed  with  powers  and  activities,  inherent  within  it 
and  found  in  nothing  which  is  of  a  different  and  lower 
grade  of  things.  Hence,  as  far  as  mere  Life  is  concerned, 
they  are  both  truly  alive. 

Yet  the  distinction  between  organic  and  inorganic,  and 
between  animate  and  inanimate  is  exceedingly  conven- 
ient and  expresses  an  important  Truth,  and  may  well  be 
retained  provided  the  true  Life  of  the  latter  be  not  lost 
sight  of,  nor  denied,  and  provided  the  expressions  be 
used  in  their  proper  meaning.  They  refer  simply  to  dis- 
tinct grades  or  degrees  of  Life.  The  one  world  may  be 
called  inorganic  and  inanimate,  because  in  character  and 
in  life  it  is  of  an  altogether  inferior  grade.  The  Term, 
"Organic,"  may  be  reserved  to  designate  all  material 
structures  above  the  great  gulf,  which  separates  the  min- 
eral from  the  plant  kingdom.  And  the  Term,  "Ani- 
mate," reserved  to  designate  the  plant  life  and  all  forms 
and  grades  of  Life  from  this  upward  to  the  Divine. 

Thus  we  have  Life  in  all  things,  but  in  an  ascending 
scale.  First,  the  Life  of  the  Mineral  Kingdom,  real  but 
too  low  to  be  ordinarily  so  named,  then  Plant  Life,  Ani- 
mal, Human,  Angelic,  Divine.  It  must  be  acknowledged 
that  the  view  which  we  have  given  of  Life  is  clear  and 
definite,  reasonable  and  immeasurably  better  than  the 
obscure,  mysterious  thoughts  concerning  it  which  leave 
it  the  great  inexplicable  Enigma. 

The  Great  Mystery  of  Life  is  in  the  simple  fact  itself 
of  the  possibility  and  reality  of  the  forces,  which  produce 
the  wonderful  phenomena  of  Life,  from  the  lowest  to  the 


364  VII      INTUITIONS  Sec. 

Zbe  /iftanitcstcD  Xife  vce  hnow 


highest  grade.  These  forces  and  phenomena  are.  They 
spring  directly  from  the  Infinite  Creator,  His  manifested 
wisdom  and  power,  bright  with  the  brightness  of  His 
glory.  The  manifested  Life  we  k7iozv;  deeper  and  further 
the  human  mind  cannot  penetrate. 

Section  VIII     Person 

We  know  what  it  is  to  be  a  Person  by  the  Intuition  of 
our  own  Personality.  By  Personality  is  meant  that  thing 
or  characteristic  about  ourselves  in  virtue  of  which  we 
are  Persons.  Although  this  is  a  very  plain  and  simple 
thing  much  confusion  or  indefiniteness  of  thought  has 
prevailed  in  regard  to  it.  That  which  has  often  been 
said  in  exposition  of  it  is  very  unsatisfactory,  leaving  us 
in  doubt  as  to  what  "Personality"  is.  It  has  been  de- 
clared to  be  incapable  of  definition ;  to  be  superior  to 
definition;  it  is  said  that  it  cannot  be  analyzed  into  sim- 
pler elements ;  it  is  itself  the  simplest  of  all,  can  be  made 
no  clearer  by  description.  It  is  called  a  conviction ;  a 
special  apprehension  in  regard  to  self  beyond  what  we 
know  in  regard  to  material  objects ;  one  of  the  high 
characteristics  of  humanity;  the  very  essence  of  man's 
individuality;  one  of  the  main  elements  in  his  sense  of 
independence,  of  freedom,  of  responsibility.  All  this 
throws  a  mystery  about  "Personality,"  and  is  a  complete 
failure  to  state  what  it  is.  In  regard  to  some  things, 
this  mode  of  speaking  may  be  necessary,  but  this  is  not 
the  case  in  regard  to  "Personality."  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty whatever  in  making  a  plain  and  readily  appre- 
hended presentation  of  it — thus: 

A  Person  is  an  individual  Being  who  has  Cognition, 
Emotion  and  Will,  or  who  thinks,  feels  and  wills.  An 
animal  is  all  this,  but  is  not  called  a  "Person,"  only  be- 
cause his  cognition,  emotion  and  will  are  of  a  low  order 
and  the  term  "Person"  is  reserved  for  individual  beings 


VIII  PERSON  365 

/nb^stic  Vicwe  ffiiroper  Definition 

who  have  cognition,  emotion  and  will  in  the  degree,  at 
least,  that  man  has  them  ;  ourselves,  angels  and  God  are 
Persons.  Animals,  being  of  a  lower  order,  might  be  re- 
garded as  incipient  or  immature  Persons,  though  they 
can  never  mature  into  such. 

The  definition,  which  we  have  given  of  a  "Person,"  is 
the  same  as  that  of  a  "  Spirit,"  except  only  that  the 
word  "Spirit"  has  a  wider  meaning,  or  application.  It 
designates  all  spirits  however  low  in  the  grade  of  spiritual 
beings  they  may  be ;  while  the  word  "  Person "  is  used 
only  for  the  higher  grades;  for  man  and  all  spiritual 
beings  above  him.  Of  these  higher  beings  it  may  be 
said,  a  Person  is  a  Spirit  and  a  Spirit  is  a  Person.  A 
Person,  therefore,  is  a  Substantial,  Spiritual  Reality  of 
the  higher  order.  He  is  a  superior  Spiritual  Substance,, 
with  a  true  "being"  of  his  own  giving  him  an  t'ndt- 
viduality,  by  which  he  is  separated  and  distinguished 
from  all  other  persons  and  things,  and  possessing  the 
inherent  attributes  of  cognition,  emotion  and  will.  To 
him,  and  to  him  alone,  the  personal  pronouns  are 
properly  applicable,  I,  thou,  he,  me,  you,  they.  Again, 
in  as  much  as  all  spiritual  beings  of  the  grade  of  man 
and  upward  and  they  alone  are  distinguished  by  the 
knowledge  of  "right  and  wrong"  and  moral  obligation, 
a  Person  may  be  otherwise  defined  as  "An  Intelligent, 
Moral  Agent."  Animals,  though  they  are  spiritual 
beings  having,  as  they  do,  cognition,  emotion,  will,  are 
not  sufificiently  high  as  intelligent  beings  to  be  moral 
agents,  and  hence  are  not  Persons. 

Thus  the  mystery  and  obscurity  are  removed  from 
"Personality,"  the  state,  or  the  fact  of  our  being 
Persons.  We  know  what  this  is  Intuitively ;  because  we 
thus  know  ourselves.  We  are  "Persons;"  because  we 
are  what  we  know  ourselves  to  be,  individual  Spirits  of 
our  own  grade  of  spiritual  being,  having  cognition,  emo- 


366  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

©ur  "ffndMOual  JBeing  "HDentitis 


tion,  will  and  moral  agency.  As  thus  explained,  the 
Conception,  which  we  have,  is  simple,  clear  and  definite. 

One  of  the  essential,  intuitively  and  hence  infallibly 
known  characteristics  of  ourselves  as  Persons  is  that  we 
are  created  Beings,  indestructible  except  ab-extra  by  the 
act  of  the  Creator,  and  immutable  in  our  spiritual  sub- 
stance and  attributes ;  these  are  with  an  unbroken  con- 
tinuity of  being;  hence  our  ''Personal  Identity."  An- 
other essential  characteristic,  intuitively  and  infallibly 
known  of  ourselves  is  that,  though  our  "Being"  is 
derived  from  and  dependent  upon  the  Creator,  it  is  our 
"True  Proper  Being,"  our  own  individual  being,  which 
separates  us  as  Persons  from  God,  as  well  as  from  all 
other  Persons  and  things.  Thus  familiar  with  our  own 
Personality,  we  understand  the  Personality  of  our  fellow- 
men,  of  angels  and  of  God ;  although  in  regard  to  the 
Divine  Personality  we  are  not  able  to  know  it  as  "In- 
finite Absolute." 

Personal  Identity.  This  is  Intuitively  known.  Know- 
ing that  we  are  "Persons,"  we  know  that  we  are  with 
an  unbroken,  continuity  of  continued  Being.  This  gives 
us  a  past,  a  present  and  a  future  as  long  as  we  are  living 
Persons.     For  the  full  exposition  of  this  see  page  76. 

Section  IX     Power 

Power  is  a  Substantial  Reality.  Without  a  Substance 
to  which  it  belongs  and  in  which  it  inheres  as  a  quality 
Power  has  no  reality.  It  is  an  "Intuition."  We  know 
it  by  the  immediate  cognition  of  the  Reality  itself.  Our 
prime  Intuition  of  it  is  the  cognition  of  our  own  spiritual 
Power.  Its  character  is  very  distinct  and  unmistakable 
and  to  it  we  give  a  Name;  we  call  this  "Reality"  Power. 
This  sums  up  and  expresses  in  one  word  that  which,  in 
fact,  is  twofold.  We  cannot  make  the  thought  any  more 
distinct  by  using  other  simple  words  to  distinguish  it. 


VIII  PERSON  367 

power  a  Substantial  TRealit^ 


These  are  only  other  mere  names  for  the  same  thing, 
such  as  force,  strength,  energy,  vigor  and  throw  no  new 
light  upon  it.  The  only  way  by  which  we  can  give  a 
clearer  verbal  expression  of  it  is  to  use  such  form  of 
words  as  will  show  the  twofold  character  of  the  Reality; 
hence  the  twofold  significance  of  the  names  given  to  it. 

The  "Reality,"  which  we  name  "  Power,"  is  that  which 
causes,  accomplishes,  produces;  which  makes,  creates, 
works,  executes,  directs,  controls,  brings  to  pass,  gives 
rise  to,  gives  being  to,  brings  into  being,  changes,  acts 
and  reacts,  opposes  resistance,  does  somethhig.  All  these 
are  essentially  the  same  and  their  common  characteristic 
is  that  they  express  the  twofold  nature  of  that  which  we 
call  Power.  All  these  terms  include  "a  thing  which  is 
done.''  Without  this  there  can  be  no  thought  of  Power. 
It  is  necessarily  that  which  does  something,  accomplishes 
something,  causes  something,  etc.  Without  something 
which  is,  or  is  to  be  done  there  is  no  possibility  of 
Power.  We  can  form  no  thought  of  it;  for  the  "Real- 
ity" itself  is  the  ^^  doing  of  something^  There  are  some 
words  which  express  this  twofold  nature  of  Power,  such 
as  "EfSciency,"  "Execution,"  "Causation."  These  all 
necessarily  include  in  their  meaning  "effects"  or  "re- 
sults." Efficiency  is  that  which  effects.  Execution  is 
that  which  brings  something  to  pass  or  puts  into  effect. 
Causation  is  that  which  makes  something.  These  three 
words  are  very  familiar  and  well  understood  and  are  very 
convenient  to  express  the  essential  twofold  nature  of 
Power,  as  that  which  catcses  effects. 

That  which  has  never  affected  something  and  never 
will  nor  can  is  no  Power.  And  still  further,  so  truly  is 
"effect"  essential  to  Power  that  this  must  be  ceaselessly 
energizing — that  is  ceaselessly  doing  something.  It  is 
only  as  it  energizes.  It  began  its  created  Reality  as  en- 
ergizing, that  is  putting  forth  its  eflficiency.     It  continues 


368  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

"Bfiect"  Bssential  to  power 

a  Reality  by  energizing  and  should  this  cease  at  any  mo- 
ment it  would  be  hopelessly  lost  forever.  Its  being 
without  effect,  even  for  a  moment,  is  impossible.  The 
distinction  between  what  is  called  active  power  and 
power  at  rest  is  only  the  distinction  between  its  effects. 
"Active  Power"  is  that  which  is  producing  manifest 
changes.  "Power  at  rest"  is  that  which  is  producing 
and  maintaining  an  equilibrium  with  an  equal  opposing 
power ;  the  stationary  equilibrium  is  the  effect  of  the  two 
opposing  powers  in  full  and  true  energy.  The  high 
pressure  steam,  quietly  at  rest  within  the  boiler,  is  exert- 
ing its  full  power  to  burst  forth  with  explosive  violence, 
as  truly  as  it  does  when  it  is  driving  the  engine  along  its 
course  with  great  velocity.  If  the  word  "Pressure"  be 
used  it  will  serve  to  make  distinct  the  thought  of  the  es- 
sentially ceaseless  energizing  of  Power.  Pressure  is  not 
the  moment  it  ceases  to  press.  Power  is  not  the  mo- 
ment it  ceases  to  e7iergize. 

How  do  we  know  that  there  is  this  Efficient  Reality? 
It  is  a  fact  of  Infallible  Consciousness. 

It  has  often  been  maintained  that  all  that  we  know  of 
Power  is  simply  antecedent  and  sequence ;  and  that,  as 
far  as  we  can  discover,  there  is  no  efficiency.  Even  Sir 
William  Hamilton  seems  to  maintain  this.  He  says  "  It 
is  now  universally  admitted  that  we  have  no  perception 
of  the  connection  of  cause  and  effect  in  the  external 
world."  "We  have  no  perception  of  any  force,  or  effi- 
ciency." "That  we  have  no  perception  of  any  real 
agency  of  one  body  on  another  is  a  truth,  which,  etc." 
"But  there  are  many  philosophers,  who  surrender  the 
external  perception,  and  maintain  our  internal  conscious- 
ness of  causation,  or  power."  This  also  he  rejects.  All 
this,  however,  ignores  the  plain  data  of  Consciousness. 
It  is  not  antecedent  and  sequence  which  we  cognize,  but 
Real  Efficiency. 


IX  POWER  369 

QonecioxxBWces  of  BfHclenci3 


Our  prime  cognition  of  it  is  the  cognition  of  our  own 
spiritual  efficiency.  As  our  thoughts  arise  in  our  mind 
we  are  conscious  of  direct  efficiency  over  them.  They 
do  our  bidding,  we  suppress  one  and  bring  forward 
another,  we  direct  and  shape  them  at  pleasure.  We 
reason  in  one  way  and  another  as  we  choose.  We  create 
our  Phantasies,  which  we  hold  up  before  our  mental 
vision  for  awhile  and  then  dismiss.  We  allow  one 
emotion  to  prevail  and  stimulate  its  activity,  we  restrain 
another.  By  our  Will  we  exeaite  our  wishes,  thoughts, 
aims,  determinations.  All  this  is  pure  and  distinct  effi- 
ciency. It  is  cognized  as  such  free  from  all  antecedent 
and  sequence.  The  Consciousness  itself  is  of  pure  effi- 
ciency. There  is  no  antecedent  to  be  followed  by  a 
sequence.  We  are  conscious  simply  of  ourselves  as 
Agents,  Executors ;  we  are  conscious  of  the  execution 
of  thoughts,  emotions,  wishes,  aims,  determinations ;  we 
cognize  that  we  mould,  fashion,  direct,  control  our  own 
spiritual  states  and  activities  by  our  own  efficiency. 

The  Consciousness  of  Efficiency  is  even  yet  more  dis- 
tinct. We  are  conscious  that  we  have  inherent  self- 
acting  efficiencies,  producing  their  effects.  Thus,  we 
have  the  self-acting  efficiency  of  thought.  This  produces 
our  thoughts,  as  they  come  and  go,  by  virtue  of  inherent 
efficiency.  We  have  our  self-acting  efficiency  of  emotion; 
this  produces  our  rising  and  falling  emotions,  coming 
and  going  of  themselves.  We  have  also  our  self-acting 
efficiency  of  Will  which  produces  our  voluntary  acts,  or 
volitions.  This  is  a  very  positive  and  distinct  cognition 
on  our  part,  and  is  the  cognition  of  pure  efficiency; 
there  is  not  the  least  trace,  nor  possibility  of  sequence. 
The  things  cognized  are  simply  efficiencies  in  action, 
producing  their  effects ;  effects  which  are  the  activities 
of  the  efficiencies. 

We  are  still  further  conscious  that  the  efficiencies  act 
24 


370  VII     INTUITIONS  sec. 

Executive  power  over  tbe  :83oDs 


and  react  upon  one  another,  their  greater  or  less  activity 
being  according  as  they  permit  one  another  free  play,  or 
as  the  one  efficiency  opposes  and  holds  another  in  the 
rest  of  equilibrium.  As  we  point  out  elsewhere,  in  the 
chapter  on  the  Will,  the  various  powers  of  the  Soul, 
th©se  of  thought,  emotion  and  will,  are,  as  are  the  forces 
of  the  material  Cosmos,  ever  energizing  and  acting  and 
reacting  upon  one  another;  the  varied  activities  and  rest 
of  the  Soul  being  the  resultant  of  these  inherent,  ever 
inter-acting  powers.  Here,  again,  all  antecedence  and 
sequence  is  wanting  and  impossible.  We  have  simply 
efficiencies  energizing,  inter-acting;  their  activities  are 
the  effects. 

Yet  again,  we  are  conscious  of  our  possession  of  Ex- 
ecutive Power  over  the  Body.  We  carry  our  thoughts, 
determinations  into  actual  execution.  Here  also  is  pure 
efficiency.  Whatever  may  or  may  not  be  the  result  be- 
yond our  spiritual  selves,  the  Volition  itself  is  the  deed 
done  within  the  Soul.  How  far  the  body  responds  de- 
pends upon  its  condition  and  its  own  self-acting  efficien- 
cies. If  these  be  in  proper  "self-activity,"  we  direct 
them ;  our  Will  efficiency  and  they  interact  with  one  an- 
other and  the  bodily  movements  are  the  Resziltant. 

The  fact  that  our  bodily  actions  are  produced  by  a 
mechanism  of  nerves,  muscles,  tendons  and  bones  does 
not  enter  into  the  question.  The  simple  thing  which  we 
cognize  is  that  we  have  authority,  control  over  this  com- 
plicated self-acting  mechanism.  All  its  voluntary  emo- 
tions are  our  own  execution.  We  have  no  conscious- 
ness of  a  line  of  mere  sequences,  as  volitions,  nerve 
action,  muscular  action,  movements  of  tendons  and  bones 
and  then  motion  of  the  limbs.  The  mechanism  is  a  unit, 
more  or  less  unknown  in  its  structure  and  its  laws,  to 
most  persons  almost  thus  completely  unknown,  but  we 
all  know  that  we  have  power  over  it,  we  direct  and  con- 


IX  POWER  371 

Selt*Hctlng  BfKciencies 


trol  it;  we  utilize  it.  We  will  and  it  is  done;  the  doing 
is  our  own. 

The  Body  is  a  self-acting  machine.  Its  motions  are 
the  effects  of  its  own  inherent  self-acting  efficiencies. 
The  mechanism  must  be  in  proper  working  order,  in 
union  with  ourselves,  and  must  be  self-acting  with  its 
own  inherent  efificiencies.  When  this  is  the  case  we 
direct,  determine  its  activities  by  our  own  self-acting 
Will  efficiency  in  virtue  of  the  interacting  of  the  two  ef- 
ficiencies. Our  Consciousness  is  not  that  of  a  separate 
volition  and  of  a  separate  bodily  movement  which  imme- 
diately follows  we  know  not  why  nor  how.  Our  Con- 
sciousness is  that  of  a  Unit.  We  are  conscious  of  our 
own  self-acting  Will  efficiency  and  of  the  self-acting 
bodily  efficiency,  and  of  these  as  acting  and  reacting  upo?t 
one  another. 

If  the  Body  is  not  in  proper  working  order  or  condi- 
tion and  in  proper  communion  with  the  Soul,  there  are 
no  physical  efficiencies  for  our  Will  efficiency  to  act  with 
and  upon,  and  consequently  there  can  be  no  bodily 
voluntary  movements.  But  if  there  be  such  bodily 
efficiencies,  our  Will  efficiency  acts  with  and  upon  them 
and  the  bodily  activities  are  the  resultant  of  the  two 
interacting  efficiencies.  Moreover,  the  activities  are 
greater,  or  less  as  the  one  efficiency  prevails  over  and 
controls  the  other;  or  as  they  hold  one  another  in  the 
equilibrium  of  equal  opposing  forces.  Such  equilibrium 
takes  place  when  our  Will  efficiency  is  unequal  to  the 
task  of  lifting  the  arm,  for  example,  while  the  hand  holds 
a  weight  beyond  the  strength  of  the  body  to  move ; 
the  combined  efficiencies  of  the  Will,  the  Body,  and  the 
weight  counterbalance  one  another. 

So  also,  we  are  conscious  that  the  energizing  of  our 
Will  efficiency  as  exerted  over  the  Body  varies  greatly. 
At    times   it    is    only  of   the  slightest  character,  and  at 


^72  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec 

StHcienclcs  ot  tbc  imorlD 


other  times  it  is  of  the  utmost  efficiency  as  thus  exerted. 
At  one  time  we  move  our  Hmbs  with  the  greatest  ease, 
and  at  another  we  must  exert  our  greatest  effort.  This 
all  depends  upon  the  character,  or  conditions  of  the 
bodily  efficiencies  with  which  the  Will  efficiency  inter- 
acts and  the  work  which  they  have  to  do.  When  the 
self-acting  bodily  efficiency  must  be  violent  and  power- 
ful, as  in  great  physical  exertion  in  running,  climbing 
steep  mountains,  carrying  heavy  loads  the  energizing 
activity  of  the  Will  must  be  of  a  corresponding  character, 
while  this  is  very  slight  when  the  work  to  be  done  re- 
quires little  effort.  We  all  are  perfectly  familiar  with 
the  fact  that  great  muscular  exertion  requires  the  putting 
forth  of  great  Will  power.  By  dint  of  Will-power  men 
with  frail  bodies  have  often  shown  wonderful  energy  and 
endurance,  sustaining  the  exhausted  body  by  the  might 
of  the  Will.  Some  have  suggested  and,  perhaps,  have 
maintained  that  bodily  fatigue  is  in  the  Will,  rather  than 
in  nerves  and  muscles. 

Thus  it  is  perfectly  evident,  that  our  consciousness  of 
the  voluntary  activities  of  the  Body  is  that  of  pure  and 
real  Efficiency ;  the  spiritual  and  the  material  in  their 
inter-action.  The  relation  of  the  Will  to  external  forces 
and  work  is  unfolded  in  the  chapter  on  the  Will. 

Deriving  our  thought  of  "Efficiency"'  from  the  cog- 
nition of  our  own  inherent  spiritual  Efficiencies,  we 
understand  the  Efficiencies  of  the  material  World,  as 
they  are  brought  within  the  reach  of  our  cognition. 

As  just  noticed,  we  know  the  self-acting  efficiencies  of 
our  own  Bodies ;  and  we  know  the  self-acting  efficiencies 
of  material  things,  as  they  act  and  react  upon  those  of 
our  Bodies.  In  putting  forth  our  physical  efforts,  we 
meet  with  resistances  which  we  overcome,  hold  in  the 
rest  of  equilibrium  with  ourselves,  or  are  overcome  by 
them;  our  own  efforts  being  greater,  or  less  according 


IX  POWER  373 

©bscrvatlon  ot  jforcce 


to  the  character  of  opposing  forces  and  the  results  which 
we  endeavor  to  accomplish.  But  the  material  ef^ciencies 
are  not  always  opposing.  They  often  are,  as  we  are  con- 
scious, conjoined  with  our  own  efficiencies ;  and  we  con- 
stantly make  use  of  them  to  enable  ourselves  by  their  aid 
to  accomplish  desired  work.  In  addition  to  this,  we 
cognize  the  varied  Efficiencies  throughout  the  Cosmos 
as  they  act  and  react  upon  one  another  and  produce  the 
wonders  of  its  ever-changing,  beautiful  phenomena. 

The  Error  of  those,  who  deny  that  we  perceive  effi- 
ciency in  the  material  World,  lies  in  the  fact  that  they 
direct  their  attention  to  objects  and  not  to  forces.  The 
familiar  illustration  is  that  of  the  two  billiard  balls.  When 
one  strikes  the  other,  it  is  said,  all  that  we  see  is  ante- 
cedent and  sequence;  the  impact  of  the  balls,  succeeded 
by  the  motion  of  the  one  which  was  at  rest. 

Our  attention  should  be  directed  to  forces;  to  their 
interactions,  their  oppositions  or  resistances,  their  con- 
junctions, their  equilibrium,  their  varying  degrees  of 
power  and  activities,  their  self-activities,  their  measure- 
ment ;  the  manipulation  of  them,  their  utilization,  the 
laws  by  which  they  are  governed,  as  "  inversely  as  the 
square  of  the  distance ;"  the  varieties  of  forces,  as  Elec- 
tric, Magnetic,  Chemical,  Mechanical,  Molecular,  Heat, 
Light,  Actinic,  Life  forces,  plant  and  animal.  Polariza- 
tion, Inertia;  their  different  modes  of  acting,  as  expan- 
sion, contraction,  attraction,  repulsion,  in  closest  im- 
pressed contact,  a  less  than  hair-breadth  separation  being 
destructive,  as  in  cohesion,  at  distances  even  of  millions 
of  miles,  as  in  gravitation ;  constructive,  disintegrating, 
direct,  inductive;  their  transmutations,  the  peculiarities 
of  the  efifects  of  different  forces,  their  manifestations  in 
Motions;  ^'  Motio^i'"  is  visible  force. 

The  different  forces  are  different  modes  of  motion. 
Tyndale's  great  doctrine.     "Heat,"  which  is  one  of  the 


374  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

/iftotion  is  IDlsiblc  ^ovcc 


great  material  forces,  "a  Mode  of  Motion."  The  veloc- 
ity of  Motion  is  the  measurefttent  of  force.  There  is 
nothing  with  which  Scientists  deal  more  than  with  forces. 
These  are  the  material  of  their  sciences.  They  build  up 
great  systems  of  calculations  of  minute  exactness,  as  to 
complicated  practical  results,  upon  them.  So  true  is  it 
that  it  is  with  forces  that  they  deal,  that  some  go  so  far 
as  to  hold  that  all  objects  are  simply  forces  or  motions, 
that  is  manifested  forces,  or  forces  in  activity;  the  most 
solid,  firmly  abiding  bodies  being,  in  fact,  atoms  innum- 
erable beating  and  dashing  against  one  another  with 
velocities  as  high  as  many  millions  of  vibrations  per 
moment. 

The  manipulation  and  utilization  of  forces  by  men  may 
be  regarded  as  an  actual  demonstration  of  real  and  cog- 
nized Efficiency. 

Motion  is  visible  force.  Its  velocity  and  its  resistence 
to  opposing  force  are  its  measure.  The  initial  velocity 
of  a  projectile  is  the  measure  of  the  force  developed  by 
the  explosive  within  the  gun,  and  the  resisting  force  of 
the  steel-clad  Target  overcome  is  the  measure  of  the  en- 
ergy imparted.  Men  regulate  the  Motion  by  increasing 
or  diminishing  the  amount  of  imparted  energy,  or  by  the 
application  of  opposing  force ;  the  imparted  energy  re- 
maining the  same,  but  held  at  rest  in  equilibrium  by 
equal  degree  of  the  opposing  force  applied,  or  acting 
with  greater  or  less  velocity  according  to  the  degree  of 
the  opposing  force  given.  Men,  with  their  knowledge 
of  the  various  forces,  use  such  of  them  as  are  best  fitted 
for  the  accomplishment  of  desired  work,  and  generate 
and  maintain  the  degree  of  power  needed  according  to 
the  amount  and  character  of  the  work  to  be  done.  It 
would  be  difficult,  indeed,  to  conceive  of  a  more  com- 
plete demonstration  of  real  and  cognized  Efficiency. 

In  regard  to  Scientific  men  and  men  of  practical  abil- 


IX  POWER  375 

TKHc  sec  ismcicnc^ 


ity  it  must  be  remembered  that  they  depend  entirely 
upon  observatio7i  of  realities,  that  is  upon  the  immediate 
cognition  of  them.  The  very  thing,  therefore,  which  we 
cognize  in  the  material  world  is  ''Efficiency."  The  true 
interpretation  of  the  phenomena  of  the  billiard  balls  is 
that  it  is  a  display  of  motion,  manifested  force.  The  first 
ball  is  in  rapid  motion,  it  has  that  amount  of  active  en- 
ergy; when  it  strikes  the  ball  at  rest  its  motion,  that  is 
its  active  energy,  is  imparted  to  it;  coming  itself  to  rest 
it  gives  its  motion,  its  active  energy,  to  the  other  ball ; 
this  now  moves  on  till  by  opposing  forces,  such  as  re- 
sistance from  air  and  from  friction  on  the  table,  it  is  de- 
prived of  its  motion,  its  active  energy,  and  comes  to  rest. 
Here  again  the  very  thing  which  we  see  is  "Efficiency" 
— to  see  is  to  cognize. 

In  view  of  what  we  have  said  of  our  cognition  of  ma- 
terial Efficiency  it  is  absurd  to  affirm  that,  notwithstand- 
ing all,  we  do  not  see  anything  more  than  the  sequence 
of  these  things  ;  that  we  do  not  and  cannot  see  the  effi- 
cient connectio7i  of  cause  and  effect. 

This  is  to  have  eyes  and  see  not  and  to  darken  knowl- 
edge by  words.  What  we  mean  by  "Efficiency"  is  the 
reality  which  we  see.  It  is  something  done;  it  is  the 
doing  of  something;  it  is  that  ''which  doesT  What  is 
that  which  does ;  which  binds  cause  and  effect  together 
in  invariable,  immutable,  exact  relations  according  to 
immutable  laws;  or  in  other  words  what  is  '' Efficiency, ^^ 
"Power"  is  as  impenetrable  a  mystery  as  "Being," 
"Substance,"  "Solidity,"  the  human  Soul,  God  Himself. 
All  that  we  can  know  are  these  realities  as  they  are  pre- 
sented to  us ;  into  their  inmost  mysteries  we  cannot 
enter.  All  we  can  possibly  know  of  "  Efficiency"  is  that 
it  is  that  Reality  ''which  acts"  and  "does,"  in  the  way  in 
which  we  cognize  that  it  does ;  its  effects  are  its  own 
activities,  itself  in  action. 


376  VII     INTUITIONS  Sec. 

importance  of  Iknowleoge  of  powet 


We  have  endeavored  to  unfold  the  Testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness in  regard  to  the  true  nature  of  "Power"  and 
our  Cognition  of  it,  in  the  fullest  and  clearest  manner 
possible,  because  it  has  been  denied  that  there  is  real 
Efficiency,  or  that  we  have  the  knowledge  and  proof  of 
it.  And  also  because  of  the  essential  importance  of  this 
assured  knowledge.  Without  this  we  can  have  no  true 
knowledge  of  the  real  character  of  our  own  Souls,  and 
their  activities,  nor  of  the  material  world  and  the  activi- 
ties prevalent  throughout  it.  And  yet  more,  because 
having  no  assured  true  knowledge  of  Power  as  Effi- 
ciency, we  can  have  no  true  knowledge  of  God  and  of 
His  relations  to  us  and  the  world,  and,  indeed,  no  proof 
of  His  Being.  All  thoughts  of  Him  in  His  own  Being 
and  as  Creator,  Upholder,  Guide,  Guard  and  Benefactor 
vanish  away;  the  whole  Universe  of  material  things  and 
of  intelligent  creatures,  including  ourselves,  becomes  a 
Mystery  of  the  deepest  and  most  inexplicable  character; 
as  far  as  we  could  know,  there  would  be  no  such  thing 
as  Cause  and  Effect  and  the  need  and  the  Reality  of  the 
First  Great  Cause  of  all ;  there  would  be  for  us  no  "  In- 
finite Absolute;" — and  the  aspiration  and  reaching  out 
of  the  Soul  towards  it,  as  the  One  to  whom  we  are 
responsible  and  to  whom  it  is  our  highest  act  as  intelli- 
gent beings  to  render  Love  and  Adoration,  would  be 
destroyed ;  the  World  would  be  without  God. 

Section  X     Motion 

We  have  already  given  one  Definition  of  Motion — 
"Motion  is  visible  Force" — or  "It  is  manifested  Force." 
A  still  further  definition,  however,  is  needed  of  it,  as  the 
question  arises  What  is  this  manifestation  of  force? — or 
What  is  "Motion"  by  which  force  is  manifested?  The 
additional  definition  may  be  expressed,  thus — "  Motion 
is  the  increasing  and  the  diminishing  of  distance  between 


MOTION  377 

^wofolD  definition 


objects."  This  thought,  or  conception  of  Motion  we 
have  by  Intuition.  It  is  a  ReaHty  which  we  immediately 
cognize.  Being  a  reality  it  necessarily  involves  Sub- 
stance. It  is  a  Substantial  Reality,  because  it  is  a  quality 
of  Substance  without  which  it  is  an  impossibility. 

This  thought  is  necessarily  connected  with  Space. 
Some  have  defined  Motion  as  "Translation  in  Space." 
This,  however,  is  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory.  The 
Exposition  which  we  have  already  given  of  Space  reveals 
the  true  character  of  Motion.  Real  Space  is  the  expan- 
sion of  a  material  object  and  the  distance  between 
objects,  and  Motion  is  the  increasing  and  the  diminish- 
ing of  this  distance.  This  necessitates  at  least  two 
objects,  or  parts  of  an  object  that  motion  may  be  pos- 
sible and  actual.  To  illustrate  this,  we  may  suppose  an 
absolute  void,  or  a  perfect  vacuum  without  circumference, 
or  boundaries;  a  pure  imagination,  however,  and  un- 
thinkable in  reality.  If  within  this,  there  be  a  single 
indivisible  object,  having  within  itself  no  moveable  parts, 
no  real  motion  would  be  possible.  The  object  could  not 
move  in  any  direction  because  all  directions  are  obliter- 
ated, it  could  go  no  nearer  to,  nor  further  from  any 
circumference,  or  boundary  or  part  for  there  are  none, 
nor  to  or  from  any  thing,  for  there  is  naught  but  itself. 

It  may  not  be  said,  that  it  might,  nevertheless,  have  a 
"  translation  "  though  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  this, 
for  the  only  conception  which  we  can  form  of  translation 
and  the  only  thing  which  we  can  mean  by  it  is  the 
increasing  and  the  diminishing  of  the  distance  of  an 
object  from  something  else.  Beyond  that  of  a  mere 
ficticious,  imaginary  unreality,  such  an  object  has  no 
motion.  But  the  moment  a  second  object  be  introduced 
motion  becomes  a  possible  reality.  Such  being  the 
essential  thought  of  Motion,  all  kinds  of  it  may  be  pro- 
duced, straight  forward,  curved,  zig-zag,  rotary,  vibra- 


378  VII     INTUITIONS  Secs. 

Bternlts  Mfiera  "KaDicanB  from  XLime 


tory,  continuous,  intermittent,  occillating,  of  maintained 
or  varying  velocity,  and  with  any  degree  of  intensity  or 
slowness,  through  atomic,  microscopic,  common  place 
distances,  or  through  the  immeasurable  courses  of  the 
stars  and  nebulas. 

Moreover,  the  all  important  fact  to  be  noted  with 
especial  emphasis  is  that  this  Reality,  "  Motion,"  in  all 
its  varied  aspects  is  known  by  our  immediate  cognition 
of  it,  as  presented  to  us  both  by  touch  and  sight.  It  is 
indubitably  true,  that  we  have  as  distinct  and  unmistak- 
able visual  perception  of  Motion,  as  we  have  of  any  other 
Reality  that  comes  with  the  field  of  our  Vision.  This  is 
brought  distinctly  forward  by  our  Exposition  of  Ex- 
ternal Perception.  See  Chapter  V,  pages  223-225.  Also 
page  122. 

Section  XI     Time  and  Eternity 

Our  Intuition  of  Time  has  been  unfolded  at  length. 
We  here  need  only  to  state  the  fact  that  we  cognize 
Time  as  a  Reality,  having  its  being  in  created  intelli- 
gences and  things.  It  began  with  Creation,  and  con- 
tinues as  long  as  the  "Creation"  continues  to  be.  It 
would  end  with  it.  Without  it.  Time  is  unthinkable. 
Time  is  a  quality  or  attribute  of  finite  beings,  which  are 
and  continue  to  be.  It  is  their  continued  and  measured 
duration. 

How  Time  and  Eternity  stand  related  to  one  another 
we  know  not;  but  we  know  that  Eternity  dififers,  not  in 
length  of  duration,  but  radically  from  Time,  and  of  it  we 
cannot  even  think.  Eternity  is  neither  Past,  nor  Pres- 
ent nor  Future ;  neither  any  one  nor  combination  of 
these.  We  do  not  know  what  it  is.  It  has  its  Reality 
in  the  "Infinite  Absolute."  We  can  form  no  possible 
thought  of  the  "enduring"  or  "duration"  of  the  "In- 
finite Absolute."     It  is  unthinkable. 


xi,xii,xiii  TIME,  SPACE,  SPIRIT  MATTER  379 

Q:be  jfoun&atlon  of  Bll  C^rutb 


Section  XII     Space  and  Infinitude. 

Our  Intuition  of  Space  has  also  been  unfolded  already. 
It  is  a  finite  Reality,  having  its  real  being  in  finite  ma- 
terial objects.  Without  these,  it  is  only  imaginary,  with 
imaginary  objects.  It  is  the  expanse  of  material  sub- 
stances and  the  distance  of  one  material  object  from  an- 
other; otherwise  it  is  unthinkable.  Hence,  contrary  to 
that  which  is  repeatedly  afifirmed,  it  is  finite  and  has  its 
boundaries,  these  being  at  the  outer  realms  of  the  created 
Universe.  All  beyond  the  outlying  material  Ether  is 
only  imaginary  in  itself  and  objects. 

Space  stands  related  to  Infinitude,  as  Time  stands  re- 
lated to  Eternity,  a  relation  which  we  cannot  in  the  least 
understand,  Infinitude  itself  being  unknown  and  unthink- 
able, and  having  its  Reality  in  the  "Infinite  the  Abso- 
lute." This  all  refers  to  Material  Things.  We  have  no 
Intuition  of  Spirits  within  Space  nor  of  their  motion 
therein,  except  that  they  are  o^nnipresent  within  the 
Body  and  as  far  beyond  it,  as  may  be  permitted  by  their 
vital  union  with  it,  and  except  as  they  move  with  the 
moving  body. 

Section  XIII     The  Essential  Distinction  Between 
THE  Spiritual  and  the  Material 

This  is  here  mentioned  again  because  of  its  Supreme 
Importance.  As  we  have  most  fully  pointed  out  and  em- 
phasized to  the  utmost,  this  is  the  positive  and  the  clear- 
est possible  Testimony  of  Infallible  Consciousness,  and  is 
the  foundation  of  all  Truth,  Knowledge  and  Science. 
Unless  this  Distinction  be  fully  recognized  and  appre- 
ciated, there  can  be  no  proper  conception  and  under- 
standing of  Ourselves,  the  World  and  God,  and  true 
Science  is  overthrown  by  Confusion  and  Error. 

Truth  has  prevailed  and  will  prevail  because  men  see 


38o  VII     INTUITIONS 

Umpregnable  C^rutF) 


with  a  Vision,  which  cannot  be  bhnded,  that  they  in  their 
true  selves  are  Spirits  lifted  above  and  distinct  from  the 
world  of  matter,  that  with  it  their  Being  and  attributes 
can  never  interchange,  blend  nor  become  one.  They 
know  themselves  as  Living  Persons  like  unto  the  Invis- 
ible and  Omnipresent  God,  animating  and  dominating  a 
material  Body  within  which  they  dwell  for  a  season. 

This  is  the  Impregnable  Truth  before  which  all  forms 
of  error  and  irreligion  must  give  way. 


Intuitiuc  ^evt^p^tioti 

CH  AFTER    VIII 

IReccssarii?  ITrutbs 

Section  I     Non-Contradiction. 

All  that  which  we  have  said  concerning  "  Intuitive 
Perception"  makes  it  evident  that  our  "Intuitions"  are 
varied  and  innumerable,  and  because  of  the  InfalHble 
character  of  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness,  they  are  all 
necessary  in  one  sense  of  the  word.  They  are  all  Infal- 
libly True.  The  things  of  which  we  have  immediate  cog- 
nition are  necessarily  what  we  know  them  to  be.  They 
are  Realities  truly  and  indubitably  known. 

There  are,  however,  certain  things  among  these  Real- 
ities which  are  in  themselves  necessary.  They  are  what 
they  are,  and  cannot  possibly  at  any  time  or  place  or 
under  any  conditions  be  other  than  they  are.  These  are 
often  called  "  Necessary  Truths,"  "  Fixed  Principles," 
"Fundamental  and  First  Truths,"  "Eternal  Verities," 
"Regulative  Laws  of  Thought,"  and,  when  formulated 
by  discursive  reasoning,  "Intuitive  Truths,"  "Axioms," 
"  Rules,"  "  Principles,"  "  Aphorisms,"  "  Maxims."  They 
are  all  intuitively  knowm  and  on  this  account  have  re- 
ceived, because  of  erroneous  thoughts  of  "Intuitive  Per- 
ception," erroneous  names,  such  as  "Native  Beliefs," 
"  Inborn  Convictions,"  "  Intuitive  Beliefs  and  Judg- 
ments," "Constitutional  Appetencies,"  "Heaven-given 
beliefs,  having  the  sanction  of  Him  who  made  us," 
"Original  Principles  implanted  in  the  human  mind." 
We  have  repeatedly  spoken  of   the  mystic,   unscientific 

381 


382  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

XLbe^  are  TRealities  CogniseD 


and  erroneous  character  of  the  thoughts  thus  designated. 
From  the  very  first,  in  unfolding  our  Exposition  of  In- 
tuitive Perception,  we  have  insisted  that  it  is  the  look- 
ing upon  that  which  is  and  is  present,  the  immediate 
Cognition  of  realities  as  they  are  and  as  w/iat  they  are, 
so  far  as  they  are  present  to  us.  This  gives  us  our 
knowledge  of  these  Necessary  Truths,  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking.  They  are  Realities  upon  which  we  look 
and  are  what  we  know  their  true  nature  or  character  to 
be.  They  belong  both  to  the  spiritual  and  to  the  ma- 
terial world,  and  are  distinctly  cognized  as  such. 

The  great  difficulty  in  regard  to  them  is  their  Neces- 
sity. To  account  for  our  Conception  of  them  as 
"Necessary  Truths"  is  the  great  problem  which  has 
wearied  and  baffled  philosophers,  and  which  has  driven 
them  simply  to  accept  the  known  fact  as  a  fact ;  or 
to  resort  to  some  kind  of  mysterious  making  of  it,  in 
some  way  or  sense,  a  gift  from  heaven.  Our  aim,  there- 
fore, is  to  explain  the  problem  of  the  Necessity  attached 
to  these  Realities  of  which  we  speak.  The  Exposition 
which  we  give  is  founded  upon  and  grows  out  of  our 
Exposition  of  Intuitive  Perception  and  the  Infallibility 
of  the  Testimony  of  Consciousness.  We  cognize  Reali- 
ties which  are  and  are  what  we  cognize  them  to  be;  and 
our  Cognition  is  Infallible.  This  gives  us  plainly  and 
indisputably  the  Great  Law,  Principle,  or  Fact  of  JVon- 
Contradiction. 

When  we  cognize  a  "thing"  as  being,  or  ''that  it  is'' 
it  must  necessarily  be,  for  our  Cognition  is  infallible. 
Moreover,  we  cannot  cognize  that  it  is  and  at  the  same 
moment  not  cognize  it,  or  cognize  that  it  is  not.  This 
would  be  what  we  call  contradiction,  "the  affirming  and 
the  denying  the  same  thing;"  and  the  impossibility  of 
this  is  a  "  self-evident  fact."  We  immediately  cognize 
the  impossibility  itself,  and  this  "  Cognition"  is  infallible. 


NON-CONTRADICTION  383 

Zbc  Xaw  of  1fton»ContraD(ction 


Again,  when  we  cognize  a  "thing"  ^/la^  it  is,  we  also 
cognize,  that  it  is  that  which  we  cognize  it  to  be,  and 
hence  it  must  necessarily  be  this,  or  have  this  character- 
istic, for  here,  again,  the  Cognition  is  infallible;  and  here 
also,  again,  we  cannot  cognize  the  character  of  a  thing 
and  at  the  same  moment  not  cognize  it,  or  cognize  that 
such  is  not  its  character.  Here,  again,  we  would  have 
Contradiction,  which  is  impossible,  as  we  have  just  seen. 

Thus  we  have  two  things,  the  Infallible  Testimony  of 
Consciousness,  or  Intuition,  and  the  Law,  or  Principle 
upon  which  it  acts,  that  of  Non-Contradiction,  a  law 
which  Consciousness  itself  makes  known.  In  these  two 
things,  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  all  knowledge  and 
of  all  Science,  we  have  the  sufficient  and  Scientific  expla- 
nation of  the  Necessity  attached  to  Necessary  Truths, 
both  of  the  spiritual  and  of  the  material  world,  and  are 
entirely  relieved  of  all  need  of  "  Innate  Convictions," 
"Inborn  Beliefs,"  "Constitutional  Appetencies,"  "Intu- 
itive Judgments,"  "  Heavenly  Gifts  and  Sanctions,"  and 
"  Impotence  of  Mind"  upon  which  Sir  William  Hamilton 
seems,  in  large  measure,  to  depend. 

We  have  already  mentioned  that,  without  making  any 
attempt  to  give  a  complete  list  or  classification  of  Nec- 
essary Truths,  they  belong  in  general  to  Numbers,  as  in 
Arithmetic,  Mathematics ;  to  Space  and  Objects,  as  in 
Geometry;  to  Material  Forces,  as  in  the  laws  of  Nature, 
the  forces  being  what  they  are;  to  Thought,  as  in  Logic; 
to  Moral  Good,  as  in  Right  and  Wrong  and  Moral  Obli- 
gation. We  unfold  and  show  the  Truth  of  our  Explana- 
tion of  "Necessary  Truths"  by  a  few  examples  of  these. 

Section  II     Numbers 

Thus  very  simply  in  regard  to  Numbers.  It  is  a  nec- 
essary Truth  that  two  and  two  make  four.  This  neces- 
sity  is   universally   acknowledged ;  the    absurdity  which 


384  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

C^wo  anD  tTwo  IReccssarllB  3Four 


has  actually  been  made,  though  perhaps  not  seriously,  of 
saying  that  possibly  in  some  other  possible  world  the 
product  might  be  five,  is  self-evident. 

Why  are  all  men  so  assured  of  this  numerical  neces- 
sity? It  is  not  by  reason  of  some  special  insight  by 
which  it  is  seen ;  nor  because  of  any  inborn  conviction 
or  native  belief.  The  reason  is  simply  because  it  involves 
a  contradiction  for  the  result  to  be  otherwise.  The  pro- 
position is  that  we  take  two  and  only  two  units,  and  add 
these  to  two  and  only  two  units;  having  done  this  we 
call  this  product  foui%  this  is  the  name  given  to  it;  or 
the  product  is  four  units,  that  is  we  have  taken  four  and 
we  have  four.  The  product  is  the  number  of  units  which 
we  have  taken,  according  to  the  proposition  acted  upon. 
For  the  result  to  be  anything  else,  the  proposition  would 
itself  be  contradicted.  We  cannot  take  only  four  units 
and  not  take  only  four.  Moreover,  the  name  "four"  is 
the  name  which  is  given  to  this  number  of  units  alone. 
We  cannot  have  the  number  of  units  which  we  call  four 
and  not  have  them,  or  have  that  number  the  name  of 
which  is  five. 

The  same  thing  holds  true  of  every  arithmetical  pro- 
position. However  intricate  or  lengthened  out  it  may 
be,  each  successive  step  is  as  simple  as  the  one  which  we 
have  named,  with  the  same  necessity  and  the  same  ex- 
planation of  it.  As  the  highest  figures  running  into 
millions  and  upward  are  all  made  up  of  the  ten  digits,  o, 
I,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  so  the  most  complicated  problems 
are  made  up  of  the  simplest,  and  we  know  that  the  same 
necessity  must  belong  to  the  whole  which  belongs  to 
each  successive  step.  It  is  a  contradiction  to  say  that 
each  step  is  necessary,  but  the  result  of  them  all  is  not. 

Section  III     Geometry 
The  Necessary  Truths  of  Geometry  have  the  same  ex- 


II  NUMBERS  385 

parallel  anJ)  Convergent  ILlnes 


planation  of  Non-Contradiction  just  given  of  Numbers. 
We  have  already  spoken  of  Parallel  Lines,  page  17. 
The  affirmation  is  often  made,  that  we  have  an  innate 
Belief  or  Judgment  that  they  can  never  come  together, 
however  far  extended  beyond  our  sight,  nor  even  if  in- 
finitely extended.  The  true  explanation  is  that  Parallel 
Lines  are  lines  which  throughout  their  entire  length  are 
equidistant  from  one  another.  For  such  lines  to  come 
together  at  any  point  would  be  a  contradiction.  They 
would  not  be  what  we  call  parallel.  We  cannot  affirm  of 
lines  that  they  are  parallel  and  not  affirm  it. 

The  absurdity  of  speaking  of  their  Infinite  extension  is 
readily  shown,  and  this  affords  another  illustration  that 
we  are  strictly  confined  to  the  finite.  There  are  and 
there  can  be  no  such  lines.  Lines  do  not  admit  of 
infinite  extension ;  and  were  they  thus  extended  we 
could  not  follow  them  in  thought;  they  would  be  un- 
thinkable; and  we  could  make  no  affirmation  of  any 
kind  regarding  them.  The  proposition  is  itself  contra- 
dictory. Lines  infinitely  extended  have  no  end  and  yet 
it  is  affirmed,  that  they  cannot  meet  one  another  at  their 
infinite  extension.  The  proposition  requires  and  denies 
an  end. 

Again,  Parallel  and  Convergent  Lines  become  the 
same  if  infinitely  extended.  Convergent  Lines,  infinitely 
extended,  at  each  step  even  if  the  steps  be  measured  by 
millions  of  miles  would  be  nearer  one  another  only  by  a 
distance  infinitely  small.  But  this  is  absolute  zero;  and 
absolute  zero  infinitely  multiplied  would  still  be  abso- 
lute zero,  and  the  measure  by  which  the  lines  approach 
one  another  at  each  point  along  their  course  could  never 
amount  to  the  distance  between  them,  and  the  converg- 
ent lines  could  never  meet,  they  would  be  Parallel. 
With  equal  truth  the  same  definition  could  be  given  of 
both,   thus — Parallel    and    Convergent    Lines    are    both 

25 


386  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  Sec. 

XLbesc  "ffnstances  prove  tbe  ^rutb  ot 


lines  which  can  never  meet  together  if  infinitely  ex- 
tended. Again,  should  the  Convergent  Lines  meet  at 
their  infinite  extension,  which  as  we  have  seen  is  impos- 
sible, the  point  of  contact  would  not  be  an  end.  Infinite 
lines  have  no  end,  and  if  convergent,  should  they  meet, 
they  would  cross  one  another  at  the  point  of  meeting 
and  diverge  till  separated  by  an  infinite  distance.  Con- 
vergent lines,  infinitely  extended,  become  divergent  lines, 
and  are  infinitely  separated  at  their  infinite  extension, 
where  the  proposition  requires  that  they  should  meet 
and  touch  one  another. 

In  thus  speaking  we  are  not  violating  the  fundamental 
principle,  that  we  must  confine  our  reasoning  to  the 
finite,  for  this  is  an  illustration  and  a  proof  of  its  truth. 
That  which  we  have  been  presenting  is  simply  a  series  of 
self-evident  contradictions  into  which  men  must  neces- 
sarily fall,  when  they  endeavor  to  think,  affirm,  or  reason 
of  things  within  the  realm  where  human  thought  is 
powerless. 

Another  instance  has  been  given  of  necessary  Truth, 
the  necessity  of  which  is  known  by  some  kind  of  inborn 
conviction.  "Two  straight  lines  cannot  enclose  a  space." 
The  explanation  is  that  by  enclosing  a  space  with 
straight  lines  we  mean  bounding  it  upon  all  sides  of 
which  there  are  at  least  three.  To  affirm  that  a  space  is 
bounded  by  two  lines  and  that  it  requires  three  boundary 
lines  is  a  contradiction,  and  hence  necessarily  impossible. 

Again — "A  Triangle  necessarily  has  three  angles." 
We  cognize  a  certain  figure  which  we  call  a  Triangle, 
because  it  has  three  angles.  It  is  a  contradiction  to  sup- 
pose that  there  can  be  such  a  figure  with  more,  or  less 
than  three  angles. 

"All  right-angles  are  necessarily  q.q^2X  to  one  another." 
We  cognize  a  certain  angle,  one  of  90°,  we  call  it  a  Right- 
Angle.     It  is  a  contradiction  to  suppose  such  an  angle 


Ill  GEOMETRY  387 

Biplanation  ©tven  of  IRecessit^ 


to  be  without  having  this  number  of  degrees.  An  angle 
which  has  not  this  ?neasiire  is  not  a  right-angle.  Hav- 
ing the  sa77ie  measure  all  right  angles  are  equal  and 
necessarily  so. 

"The  sum  of  three  angles  of  a  Triangle  is  necessarily 
equal  to  two  right  angles."  This  is  not  immediately 
cognized.  Most  men  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  How  do 
we  know  that  this  is  necessarily  true  of  all  triangles  ?  It 
is  because,  when  tatight  that  this  is  a  property  of  tri- 
angles, we  know  that  every  figure  having  three  sides  and 
three  angles  has  this  property,  which  belongs  to  this  fig- 
ure. For  us  to  think  otherwise  would  be  a  contradiction. 
It  would  be  for  us  to  deny  that  which  we  accept  as  true. 

"The  whole  is  greater  than  any  of  its  parts."  We 
cognize  an  object  and  its  divisibility  into  parts.  By  a 
part  we  mean  that  which  is  less  than  the  whole.  The 
maxim  is  a  necessary  Truth.  It  is  a  contradiction  for  us 
to  think  of  that,  which  is  less  than  the  whole,  as  equal  to 
or  greater  than  the  whole.  "The  whole  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  all  its  parts."  This  is  a  necessary  Truth.  By  the 
sum  of  all  its  parts  is  meant,  neither  more  nor  less,  but 
all  the  parts  into  which  the  whole  has  been  divided.  It 
is  a  contradiction  for  us  to  think  of  these  as  either 
greater  or  less  than  the  whole  which  has  been  divided 
into  them.     The  equality  is,  therefore,  a  necessity. 

Every  axiom  and  problem  of  Euclid  has  a  necessity, 
the  explanation  of  which  is  of  the  same  character.  Those 
whose  intricacies  we  cannot  follow,  we  know  have  the 
same  necessity ;  because  each  step  is  itself  a  necessary 
truth,  the  explanation  of  which  is  that  which  we  have 
given,  and  the  whole  constructed  of  these  must  be  nec- 
essary likewise. 

The  instances,  thus  far  given,  show  the  character  and 
prove  the  Truth  of  our  Explanation  of  the  7iecessity 
which   is   attached   to    Necessary  Truths.     By  Infallible 


388  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

/Ibsstic  Dlcw  TRejecteD 


immediate  Cognition  we  cognize  a  certain  class  of  Truths, 
but  only  in  the  concrete,  that  is  only  in  single,  individual 
cases.  We  infallibly  know  them  as  being  and  as  being 
what  we  know  them  to  be.  The  Truth  thus  known  be- 
comes necessary  and  universal  when  and  because  it  in- 
volves a  self-evident  Contradiction  for  it  to  be  otherwise. 

It  must  be  noted  that  this  application  of  the  Law  of 
Non-Contradiction  is  altogether  different  from  that  in 
which  it  has  been  employed  by  others. 

Our  Explanation  of  the  Necessity  attached  to  Neces- 
sary Truths  comes  forward  yet  more  clearly  and  receives 
striking  confirmation  from  its  application  to  "Cause  and 
Effect." 

Section  IV     Cause  and  Effect 

This  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  important  of  all  the  Problems  of  Philosophy.  It  lies 
at  the  foundation  of  practical  life,  of  all  Science  and  of 
our  assurance  of  the  Being  of  God.  The  Truth  is  that 
"  Every  Effect  must  have  an  adequate,  Efficient  Cause." 

The  Necessity  attached  to  this  has  been  explained  in 
the  same  mystic  and  unsatisfactory  way  in  which  men 
have  endenvored  to  account  for  the  necessity  of  other 
Necessary  Truths.  It  has  been  referred  to  some  kind  of 
a  heaven-given  or  innate  Belief,  Judgment,  or  Principle 
of  the  Mind,  or  to  a  mental  impotence.  Casting  these 
aside,  we  find  for  it  the  same  beautiful  and  Scientific  ex- 
planation already  given  in  regard  to  Necessary  Truths. 

By  Infallible  Cognition,  as  we  have  already  pointed 
out,  page  366,  we  have  the  knowledge  of  True  Efficiency, 
or  "Power."  In  unfolding  our  Intuitive  knowledge  of 
this,  we  made  mention  of  its  extreme  importance.  That 
we  have  infallible  Cognition  of  True  Efficiency  is  neces- 
sary for  our  thought  and  assurance  of  the  Great  Truth 
of  Cause  and  Effect,  and  of  the  Necessity  which  belongs 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  389 

IRcalits  ot  BtficicncB 


to  it.  If  there  be  no  real  **  Efficiency,"  there  can  be  no 
such  Reality  as  Cause  and  Effect,  and  unless  we  have  an 
Infallible  Cognition  of  this  Reality  we  can  have  no 
assurance  of  the  Necessity,  which  is  attached  to  it. 
Having  established  the  Reality  of  real  Efficiency  and  the 
fact  of  our  Infallible  Cognition  of  it,  the  Reality  of 
*'  Cause  and  Effect "  becomes  self-evidently  true,  and  the 
Necessity  attached  to  it  becomes  a  Problem  of  ready 
solution. 

By  Infallible  Cognition  we  cognize  the  Reality  in  the 
concrete,  that  is  in  single  individual  cases.  Every 
Motion  which  we  see  is  Visible  Power,  is  "  Manifested 
Efficiency,"  or  is  "  Efficiency  manifested."  Every  Motion 
is  a  Change;  Every  Change  is  a  Motion;  Every  Change 
is  a  "new  becoming,"  "a  coming  into  being."  It  is  an 
acting,  an  activity,  an  action,  "a  "doing,"  a  something 
done.  Our  Infallible  Cognition  of  Efficiency  is  of  it  as 
that  which  acts,  which  has  activity,  which  "does,"  that 
is,  which  produces,  or  effects  something,  which  produces, 
or  effects  Motion,  Change,  brings  into  being,  executes, 
brings  something  to  pass,  which  causes  something, 
which  effects. 

This  is  our  infallible,  positive,  distinct  cognition  of 
Power,  that  is  of  Efficiency.  We  express  this  by  the 
definition  of  Power  as  that  ^^  which  does  so7?iethiftg"  as 
that  "which  produces  its  effect."  Or  we  express  it,  in 
one  word,  by  calling  Power  a  ''Cause,'"  that  is,  that 
which  produces  its  effect.  This  is  our  Conception  of 
Efficiency  and  of  Cause.  They  are  that  which  does  pro- 
duce an  effect.  It  is  not  the  conception  of  that  which 
may  or  can  produce  it,  but  of  that  which  does  produce 
it.  If  Efficiency  does  not  produce  its  effect  it  immedi- 
ately ceases  to  be.  Hence,  as  we  have  before  pointed  out, 
every  Power  is  always  necessarily  in  full  energy — ever 
energizing.     It  is  only  as  it  energises.     It  is  active  v/hen 


390  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 


it  produces  manifest  effects ;  it  is  at  rest  only  when  in 
equilibrium  with  equal  opposing  force,  the  effect  of  the 
forces  being  the  equilibrium  of  them  in  full  energy.  All 
this  is  true  of  Cause  in  the  sense  of  real  power,  for  it  is 
only  a  different  name  for  ever-energizing  Efficiency.  A 
Cause  cannot  be  a  cause  without  producing  its  effect.  It 
ceases  to  be  a  cause  the  moment  it  ceases  to  produce  its 
effect. 

Hence  it  is  that,  according  to  our  Infallible  Cognition, 
"Cause  and  Effect"  and  "Effect  and  Cause"  are  neces- 
sarily connected.  Cause  is  that  which  produces  its  effect. 
Effect  is  that  which  is  produced  by  a  Cause.  And  still 
further,  Cause  is  Efficiency  producing  its  effect,  and 
"Effect  is  the  activity  of  Ef^ciency,  that  which  is /r^- 
duced  by  Efficiency.  Thus  by  our  Infallible  Cognition 
we  know  not  only  that  Cause  and  Effect  are  necessarily 
connected,  but  also  that  the  connection  is  that  of  Real 
Efficiency. 

This  is  the  very  nature  of  the  Reality,  which  we  know 
by  the  Infallible  Cognition  of  it  in  the  concrete,  that  is 
in  single,  individual  cases.  And  the  Truth,  thus  known, 
becomes  necessary  and  universal  because  it  involves  a 
contradiction  for  it  to  be  otherwise.  We  cannot  infal- 
libly cognize  the  Reality  as  being,  and  as  being  what  we 
know  it  to  be,  and  at  the  same  time  cognize  it  as  7iot 
being  and  as  not  beittg  what  we  know  it  to  be.  We  cog- 
nize Cause  as  that  which  produces  its  effect,  and  "  Ef- 
fect "  as  that  which  is  produced  by  a  Cause.  It  contra- 
dicts this  to  think  that  a  Cause  may  be  without  its  effect 
and  that  an  Effect  may  be  without  its  cause.  Hence  the 
necessary  and  universal  Truth,  "  Every  Cause  must  have 
its  Effect,"  and  "Every  Effect  must  necessarily  have  its 
Efficient  Cause." 

This  Explanation  explains  the  universality  of  this 
Truth  and  also  why  it  is  accepted  and   practically  acted 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  391 

Zbc  Untuition  In  CbilDren 


upon  by  youngest  children,  by  barbarians  and  by  the 
most  ignorant  as  intelHgently  and  as  confidently,  as  by 
the  mature,  gifted  and  wisest  of  men.  The  reason  of 
this  is,  because  young  children,  barbarians  and  the  un- 
taught have,  as  far  as  the  Reality  itself  is  concerned,  as 
positive,  and  clear  a  Cognition  of  Efficiency  and  of  Cause 
and  Efifect,  as  matured  and  educated  men  have,  and,  per- 
haps, a  Cognition  of  it  which  is  decidedly  superior,  be- 
cause in  them  Intuition  is  their  chief  dependence  and 
their  characteristic  activity,  and  because  their  intuitive 
perceptions  are  untrammelled  and  unperverted  by  the 
activities  of  the  discursive  reasoning,  upon  which  mature 
men  come  to  depend  and  which  so  often  leads  them 
astray,  even  to  the  denial  of  self-evident  Truths.  This  is 
an  assured  truth,  that  if  we  wish  to  learn  what  true  "In- 
tuitions" are,  we  must  go,  not  to  mature  and  reasoning 
men,  but  to  children,  to  the  untaught,  to  the  uncivilized 
tribes,  the  true  children  of  Nature ;  it  is  in  these  that 
they  are  seen  and  studied  to  best  advantage. 

Thus,  if  these  be  questioned  in  the  unperverted  fresh- 
ness of  their  Intuitions,  it  will  be  found  that  they  have 
no  thought  of  "Innate  Beliefs,  Judgments  or  Convic- 
tions," or  of  "Heaven-implanted  assurances."  Their 
reply  with  perfect  confidence  and  without  thought  or 
hesitation  would  be,  "  I  know  that  I  and  my  companions 
have  strength ;  we  wrestle  and  struggle  with  one  another; 
we  match  strength  with  strength  and  find  which  are  the 
strongest;  we  throw  down  and  are  thrown  down;  we 
use  the  strength  of  ox  and  horse  for  work  and  burdens 
requiring  more  force  than  our  own;  we  know  and  feel 
the  power  of  wind  and  flood  and  wave ;  we  battle  with 
storms  and  tempests;  we  see  and  know  the  efifect  pro- 
duced by  blow  of  fist  and  hammer ;  we  musi  put  forth 
effort,  and  labor  and  use  means  to  do  what  we  want  to 
do ;  we  know  that  there  is  power  in  the  bent  bow,  and 


392  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

aSs  all  power  is  a  Seen  IRealtt^ 


in  the  flying  arrow,  and  in  the  thrown  stone,  as  they  go 
through  the  air  and  strike  down  our  victims  or  prey ;  we 
know  that,  when  we  find  our  work  ruined,  our  habita- 
tions destroyed,  our  things  thrown  about  or  taken  away, 
this  did  not  happen  of  itself,  it  is  evidently  the  work  of 
some  one  or  of  some  force,  it  is  like  what  we  do  our- 
selves and  see  dotie  everywhere  around  us ;  it  is  some- 
thing which  has  been  done,  and  the  damage  wrought  is 
so  great  that  it  shows  itself  to  have  been  done  by  a  cor- 
responding power ;  when  we  find  footprints  on  the 
ground,  or  trace  the  trail  through  forests  and  over  the 
plains  we  know  that  living  men  or  animals  have  passed 
that  way,  because  these  are  the  marks  of  their  footsteps, 
this  is  that  which  is  done  by  the  footsteps  of  men  and 
animals. 

It  is  by  seeing  and  feeling  these  things  that  they  know 
that  there  is  Real  Efficiency,  a  reality  which  does  some- 
thing, which  produces  its  Effect  and  is  known  by  its 
effects.  They  have  no  other  thought  of  force,  or  Power. 
They  cannot  think  of  it  as  without  effect.  In  all  this 
there  is  no  trace,  nor  thought  of  anything  "Innate."  It 
is  simply  that  which  they  know  from  practical  experience, 
from  what  they  see  and  feel,  that  is,  immediately  cog- 
nize. To  them  Power  is  a  seen  Reality,  "  Efficiency  pro- 
ducing its  effects  ; "  Effects  are  seen  Realities,  Efficiencies 
in  activity,  or  Realities  produced  by  power. 

This  is  their  only  thought,  to  see  and  feel  power  is  to 
see  and  feel  its  effects;  to  see  and  feel  effects  is  to  see 
and  feel  power ;  to  put  forth,  or  use  power  is  to  produce 
effects;  to  produce  effects  is  to  put  forth,  or  make  use 
of  power. 

Thus  their  Conception  of  the  Reality  is  that  of  all 
men,  and  the  law  of  Non-Contradiction,  though  they 
may  be  unconscious  of  it,  acts  as  promptly  and  as  effect- 
ually in  them  as  it  does  in  all  others  and  gives  necessity 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  393 

jFrom  BacUest  CbilDbooO 


to  that  which  they  see  and  know  in  individual  cases. 
Knowing  that  Cause  and  Effect  are  inseparably  and 
efficiently  united  together,  they  know  that  this  must 
always  and  everywhere  be  true,  because  otherwise  there 
would  be  a  contradiction  of  that  which  they  see  and 
know.  They  can  not  at  once  affirm  and  deny  that 
Efficiency  and  Effect  are  inseparably  united.  They  can- 
not see  and  know  that  Efficiency  is  that  which  produces 
effects,  and  Effects  are  that  which  is  produced  by 
Efficiency  and  yet  not  see  and  know  it. 

Hence  for  them,  and  for  us  all,  the  Truth  is  distinctly 
known.  Every  Cause  must  have  its  effect,  and  Every 
Effect  must  have  its  efficient  Cause,  for  a  Cause  cannot 
be  a  cause  without  its  effect  and  an  Effect  cannot  be  an 
effect  without  a  cause.  A  Cause  is  that  which  produces 
its  effect,  an  Effect  is  that  which  is  produced  by  a  Cause. 

The  Explanation  of  the  Problem  which  we  have  given 
is  self-evidently  true.  It  is  so  simple  that  we  all  may 
appreciate  it;  it  meets  all  the  requirements  of  the  case; 
is  perfectly  satisfactory;  is  free  from  all  mysticism  and 
mere  suppositions  and  is  thoroughly  Scientific.  It  is  not 
argument,  nor  reasoning,  but  the  simple  presentation  of 
the  facts  of  Infallible  Consciousness  and  of  that  which  is 
the  practical  thought  of  men  in  general.  They  reason 
and  act  confidently  upon  the  law  of  "Cause  and  Effect," 
because  from  earliest  childhood  they  have  seen  the  Reality 
everywhere  around  them  and  it  has  ever  entered  into 
their  own  practical,  efficient,  useful  experience;  and  be- 
cause they  know  that  whenever  and  wherever  they  see 
this  Reality,  and  wherever  this  Reality  may  be,  there 
this  Reality  itself  must  necessarily  be;  it  would  be  a 
manifest  contradiction  if  it  were  not. 

We  must  properly  understand  and  appreciate  the  Intu- 
ition, and  the  necessity  belonging  to  it. 

Motion,  Change,   Activity  is   "Visible,   Felt    Power." 


394  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

reflect  is  ^anitcsteo  iStRcicnc^ 


It  is  "  Manifested  Efficiency."  Efficiency  seen  and  felt. 
This  is  the  Reality  which  we  infalHbly  cognize,  and 
whenever  and  wherever  this  Reality  is,  there  it  necessa- 
rily must  be,  it  is  a  contradiction  for  a  Reality  to  be  and 
not  to  be,  and  then  and  there  it  must  be  whether  it  is 
seen  or  not. 

The  Reality  is  "Efficiency  Revealed,"  that  is  Motion, 
Change,  Activity,  and  these,  being  revealed  Efficiency, 
bear  the  name  of  Effects,  manifested  Efficiency,  and  for 
the  manifestation  to  be  apart  from  that  which  is  manifest- 
ing itself  therein  is  a  self-evident  contradiction  and  im- 
possibility. 

That  which  we  wish  to  express  is  a  very  simple  thing, 
so  simple  that  there  would  be  no  need  to  emphasize  it, 
had  it  not  been  so  seriously  denied  or  questioned;  it  is 
that  Efifect  is  manifested  Efficiency;  Efficiency  in  action. 
It  is  in  itself  that  which  is  done  or  produced  or  caused 
by  power;  it  is  that  which  has  a  cause.  If  there  be  that 
which  has  a  cause,  it  must  necessarily  have  a  cause,  when- 
ever and  wherever  it  is.  This  is  expressed  by  the  Maxim 
"  Every  Effect  must  have  its  efficient  cause." 

In  regard  to  Cause  and  Effect  much  confusion  of 
Thought  and  misstatement  prevail.  Thus  it  is  often 
thought  and  said  of  something,  that  it  has  a  number  of 
causes.  The  meaning  is  that  many  different  causes  have 
combined  to  produce  it.  It  is  also  often  said  of  these, 
that  some  of  them  have  no  efficiency ;  they  are  simply 
inert  conditions  without  which  the  efifect  could  not  be. 
For  example,  the  cause  of  the  high  polish  on  a  piece  of 
marble  is  not  simply  the  polishing  to  which  the  marble 
has  been  subjected,  but  also  the  inert,  passive  character 
of  the  marble,  without  which  no  polish  could  be  given. 
A  piece  of  sandstone,  or  chalk,  not  having  this  character, 
cannot  be  polished. 

Such  are  the  subtile,  mysterious,  marvellous  forces  of 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  395 

IRotbing  passive  nor  Ifnett 


Nature,  that  it  is  arrogance  and  ignorance  to  speak  of 
anything  as  being  passive,  inert.  All  things  in  Nature 
are  bound  together  in  a  complicated,  intimate  Unit  by- 
forces  and  their  activities,  in  a  large  measure  hidden  from 
human  insight.  In  many  cases,  we  can  see  the  efficiency 
of  things,  which  men  so  readily  call  inert.  The  marble 
itself  is  not  inert  in  the  polishing  process.  Its  particles 
or  atoms  are  so  closely  knit  and  so  firmly  held  together 
by  most  powerful,  inherent  forces,  that  they  maintain  the 
integrity  of  the  surface  of  the  marble,  actively  resisting 
the  polishing  force  and  uniting  with  it  in  the  production 
of  the  perfectly  smooth  surface,  reflecting  the  light.  A 
piece  of  chalk,  having  no  such  inherent  forces  resisting 
the  polishing,  crumbles  beneath  it,  or  has  its  surface 
torn  up  and  worn  down.  Had  we  sufficient  knowledge 
and  insight  we  might  find  efficiency  where  least  expected 
or  stoutly  denied. 

Moreover,  it  is  erroneous  to  affirm  of  anything  that  it 
has  a  number  of  causes,  except  in  the  sense  that  different 
causes  may  have  the  same  effect ;  or  that  the  same  effect 
may  be  produced  by  a  variety  of  causes.  Thus  illumina- 
tion may  be  effected  by  direct  sunshine,  by  moonlight, 
by  electricity  in  Nature,  or  artificially,  by  electric  lights, 
or  oil-burning  lamps,  or  by  striking  a  match.  But  no 
actual,  individual  effect,  in  any  particular  case,  can  have 
more  than  one  cause.  Its  cause  is  all  that  which  pro- 
duces it,  however  complicated  it  may  be,  however  numer- 
ous are  the  efficiencies  which  unite  together  in  its  pro- 
duction. Should  some  of  these  contributing  elements 
seem  to  be  inert,  there  is  no  proof  that  they  are  so ;  the 
highest  probability  is,  that  they  are  not.  And  if  they 
should  be  inert,  they  are  not  properly  called  causes  of 
the  effect ;  even  one  of  the  combined  efficiencies  is  not  a 
cause  of  it,  as  it  has  no  power  alone  to  produce  it.  The 
inert  thing,  if  there  be  such,  is  only  one  of  the  contrib- 


396  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

ail  Bctivtttee,  Cban^es  are  Bffects 


uting  constituents  of  the  complex  cause,  and,  moreover, 
the  effi-cie?icies  which  produce  the  effect  are  not  derived 
from  it;  it  is  simply  the  opportunity  of  acting  which  the 
efficiencies  have  and  improve. 

In  the  next  place,  in  regard  to  Cause  and  Effect  we 
have  seen  that,  if  there  be  the  Reality,  "Effect,"  there 
must  necessarily  be  its  efficient  Cause.  This  being  so, 
there  are  three  questions  to  be  asked : 

The  first — Is  there  such  a  Reality  as  an  "Effect,"  or 
is  there  real  Efficiency?  We  have  answered  this  already 
in  our  present  exposition  and  in  that  given  of  Power. 
The  answer  is  that  there  is  such  Reality,  as  we  know  by 
Infallible  Cognition. 

The  second — This  question  has  regard  to  particular 
things,  which  may  be  before  us.  Is  this  thing  an  Effect? 
If  it  be  an  Effect,  that  which  is  produced  by  a  cause, 
there  must  be  a  cause,  whether  we  are  able  to  discover 
that  cause  or  not.  It  must  necessarily  be.  The  answer 
to  the  question.  Is  this  an  Effect?  depends  in  a  large 
measure  upon  our  own  wit  and  wisdom,  our  own  power 
of  insight  into  the  true  character  of  things  and  the  fidel- 
ity, care  and  skill  with  which  we  use  it.  But  after  all, 
the  answer  must  be  given  by  our  immediate  cogtiition  of 
its  character,  as  to  how  far  it  is,  or  is  not  a  manifestation 
of  Efficiency.  As  has  been  fully  exhibited,  we  have  the 
power  of  such  cognition  and  are  in  the  continual  and  in- 
dubitable use  of  it.  It  is  our  most  familiar  cognition; 
we  see  and  know  the  display  of  Efficiency  everywhere. 

The  third  is,  how  do  we  know  that  all  changes,  activ- 
ities, phenomena  are  Effects  and  must  have  a  cause?  It 
is  because  they  are  the  manifestations,  the  marks  of  Effi- 
ciency. If  a  geologist  find  a  fossil  fern,  he  knows  that 
there  must  have  been  plant  life,  for  this  is  its  manifesta- 
tion, its  mark;  if  he  find  a  fossil  bone,  he  knows  that 
there  must  have  been  animal  life,  for  this  is  its  manifesta- 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  397 

jfrecOom  an&  IRcsponstbilttis 


tion,  its  mark;  if  a  human  footprint  on  the  sand  be 
found,  it  is  known  that  there  must  have  been  the  pressure 
of  a  human  foot  there,  for  this  is  its  manifestation,  its 
mark;  and  so  if  motion,  activity,  "becoming,"  etc.,  are 
seen,  it  is  known  that  there  must  be  Efficiency,  for  these 
are  its  manifestations,  its  mark,  these  are  that  which  it 
produces ;  they  form  the  conception  which  we  have  of 
Power;  they  are  themselves  visible,  felt  Power. 

An  Alleged  Exception. 

An  act  of  the  Will  is  no  more  without  a  cause,  than  is 
an  act  of  gravitation,  or  of  any  other  force.  The  Soul  is 
endowed  with  "Will-Power,"  and  when  there  is  an  act 
of  the  Will,  it  is  this  power,  which  produces  it,  and  the 
time,  manner  and  character  of  it  are  due  to  all  the  attend- 
ing circumstances  or  forces;  every  thing  within  the  man 
himself  and  the  external  influences  bearing  upon  him. 
This  is  not  inconsistent  with  liberty  and  responsibility. 

The  man  is  free  because  there  is  no  violence  done  to 
his  nature,  as  an  intelligent  and  voluntary  being. 

He  is  respo7isiblc  because  his  acts  are  in  accord  with 
his  own  moral  character  and  are  expressive  of  it,  and 
because  his  moral  character  is  of  his  own  fashioning,  due 
to  the  use  which,  throughout  life,  he  has  made  of  his 
original  constitution,  his  heredity  and  environment, 
under  the  promptings  and  monitions  of  his  conscience, 
the  Voice  within  him  of  the  One  to  whom  hp  is  respon- 
sible, and  who  alone  can  and  does  determine  the  exact 
degree  of  his  individual  responsibility.  Men  may  be  dis- 
posed to  call  this  necessity,  and  thus  endeavor  to  ex- 
cuse themselves.  But  these  are  unquestionable  facts; 
men  know  that  their  acts  are  according  to  their  charac- 
ter, their  circumstances  and  the  inactivity  or  activity  of 
their  conscience,  and  that  God  holds  them  accountable. 

To  call  in  a  "Causless-Will"  is  of  no  avail,  this  would 


398  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

If  ace  to  3f  ace  wltb  (3oO 


not  eliminate  the  above-named  facts,  even  if  men  had 
such  Will  its  acts  would  be  morally  good  or  bad  only  by 
acting  according  to  the  moral  character  of  the  men,  and 
they  would  be  no  longer  causeless ;  moreover,  as  a 
known  fact  men  never  have  used  and  never  do  use  any 
such  Will,  their  voluntary  acts  are  always  in  accord  with 
the  character  and  circumstances  of  those  whose  acts  they 
are. 

The  true  and  sure  foundation  and  measure  of  man's 
responsibility  is  his  relation  to  God,  his  Maker,  Governor 
and  Supreme  Judge;  it  is  He  who  gives  each  one  his 
original  constitution,  his  heredity,  his  outward  circum- 
stances, the  promptings  and  monitions  of  Conscience  and 
Duty ;  and  if  there  seems  to  be  in  all  this  that  which 
militates  against  moral  responsibility,  the  all-sufficient 
answer  is  that  the  one  who  makes  and  holds  us  account- 
able is  omniscient,  all  merciful  and  all  righteous.  Ac- 
countability is  a  matter  of  face  to  face  with  God  and 
what  He  requires  of  us,  being  what  we  are,  and  sitttated 
as  we  are.  Apart  from  God  there  is  no  accountability. 
In  all  His  dealings  with  men  as  intelligent  and  voluntary 
beings,  God  knows  how  far,  and  in  what  way  He  may 
act  without  destroying  their  accountability. 

The  reason  why  men  are  responsible  for  their  original, 
innate  depravity  is  because  they  stood  their  probation  in 
Adam,  and  sinned  in  him  as  their  representative.  This 
is  the  only  satisfactory  explanation  which  has  ever  been 
given  of  such  responsibility. 

It  is  thus  evident  from  the  presentation  given  that  the 
law  of  Cause  and  Efifect  enters  into  and  is  the  tj'-ue  foiin- 
dation  of  our  Moral  Responsibility,  i.  That  for  our 
Native  Depravity  has  its  cause  in  our  Representative. 
2.  That  for  our  personal  character  has  its  cause  in  our 
life-long  fashioning  of  it,  our  unceasing  character-build- 
ing.    3.  That  for  our  activities  has  its  cause  in  our  own 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  399 

Creator,  Tflpbol^cr,  IRuler 


powers  or  agency,  in  all  that  we  are  in  ourselves,  and  in 
duty  known  and  enforced  by  the  promptings  and  moni- 
tions of  Conscience,  the  Voice  of  the  One  who  makes 
and  holds  us  accountable.  Strike  out  all  this  Cause  and 
Effect,  and  our  Moral  Responsibility  is  immediately  and 
totally  destroyed. 

The  Great  First  Cause. 

In  speaking  of  "Power,"  we  noted  the  all-important 
character  of  the  Truth  concerning  it  in  regard  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  world,  ourselves  and  God. 

Power,  as  we  noticed,  is  real  Efficiency — Efficiency 
producing  its  Effects.  Upon  this  depends  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  World.  The  world  of  Nature  fs  one  sea  of 
confusion  and  mystery  unless  it  be  a  world  of  forces  in 
full  activity  producing  all  the  phenomena  of  the  Cosmos. 
It  is  thus  known  and  understood  by  all  men.  Natural 
Science  is  simply  the  discovery  and  exhibition  of  things 
in  their  causes.  We  know  ourselves  only  as  we  know 
our  spiritual  and  physical  attributes;  only  as  we  know 
what  we  are  able  to  do  and  what  we  actually  do.  We 
know  God  only  as  we  know  Him  as  the  Creator,  Up- 
holder, Ruler  of  all  things  and  of  all  intelligent  beings. 

We  cannot  thus  know  God,  and  can  have  no  thought 
of  the  Reality  of  the  "  Infinite  the  Absolute  "  without  the 
law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  Effect  necessarily  and  efficiently 
bound  to  its  cause;  that  is  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
great  Reality  of  Efficiency. 

It  is  because  we  cognize  Real  Efficiency  throughout 
the  world  and  in  ourselves  that  we  must  seek  for  the 
cause  of  every  phenomenon  and  cannot  rest  till  we  reach 
the  Great  First  Cause  of  all.  Were  we  not  compelled 
by  the  law  of  Cause  and  Effect,  there  would  be  no 
prompting,  no  need,  no  necessity  to  think  of  nor  to 
search  for  a  First  Cause,  and  we  W3uld  have  no  evidence, 


400  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

**  3fir6t  Cause  "  tbe  Unfinitc  absolute 


no  proof  of  any  such  Reality.  But  by  this  law  compelled 
to  rise  up  to  it,  we  are  obliged  by  the  same  inexorable 
Law  to  regard  the  First  Cause  of  all  as,  in  its  own  real 
self,  the  Infinite  Absolute,  for  naught  but  iki's  can  be 
lifted  up  above  the  necessity  of  having  a  cause  of  its  own 
Being  over  and  beyond  itself,  and  this  is  thus  for  us  ex- 
alted, only  because  it  is  the  Being  into  whose  Mysteries 
we  cannot  penetrate,  whose  dwelling  place  is  the  realm 
where  all  human  thought  is  powerless  and  prostrate. 

To  the  Infinite  Absolute  no  rule,  nor  thought  of  the 
finite  realm  can  by  us  be  applied,  and  in  the  Eternal  Self- 
Existence  of  His  Being  we,  as  intelligent  beings  in  the 
highest  exercise  of  our  intelligence,  rest  perfectly  con- 
tent, for  all  concerning  the  Mystery  of  His  Nature  is  for 
us  unthinkable. 

Reason  imperiously  requires  us  to  trace  all  things  else 
in  their  causes,  but  when  we  reach  the  Infinite  Absolute, 
the  source  of  all  Being,  it  knows,  with  an  assured  knowl- 
edge, that  it  has  reached  the  utmost  bound  of  finite 
thought,  and  that  it  is  an  act  of  unreason  to  think  of  the 
origin  of  the  One  who  is  unthinkable  and  to  ask  for  a 
further  revelation  of  the  Secret  of  His  Being  than  His 
own  outspoken,  ''  I  Am  that  I  Am.'' 

We  may  note  that  the  explanation,  which  has  been 
given  by  others  of  a  First  Cause,  a  "Cause  without  a 
Cause  "  is  unsatisfactory.  Thus  it  has  been  said,  that  we 
are  not  constrained  to  seek  for  a  Cause  of  Substance. 
This  seems  strange  and  untrue.  Here  is  mysticism 
again.  Why  are  we  not  constrained?  Moreover,  Sub- 
stance cannot  be  without  its  powers  and  their  laws  and 
activities.  Hence  if  Substance  need  not  a  Cause,  the 
whole  Cosmos  and  ourselves,  together  with  all  powers 
with  their  laws,  activities,  phenomena,  need  no  First 
Cause  whatever.     The  only  real  need,  if  there  be  any, 


IV  CAUSE  AND  EFFECT  401 

(Siuestfons  to  be  ConsiDcre^ 


would  be  that  of  an  Intelligent  Constructor  and  Ruler  of 
the  things  ivhich  are,  so  far  as  they  display  intelligence. 


We  find  still  further  illustration  and  confirmation  of 
our  explanation  of  necessary  Truths  in  its  application  to 
Right  and  Wrong  and  Moral  Obligation. 

Section  V     Right  and  Wrong,  Moral  Obligation 

Perhaps  the  most  impressive  characteristic  of  Man  is 
that  he  is  a  Moral  Agent.  He  has  the  conception  of 
Right  and  Wrong  and  the  assurance  of  Moral  Obliga- 
tion. It  is  his  Duty  to  do  the  Right  and  to  avoid  the 
Wrong.  And,  mysterious  as  it  seems,  inseparably  con- 
nected with  this  assurance  is  the  feeling  of  self-complais- 
ance and  pleasure  when  the  Right  is  done,  and  of  self- 
condemnation  and  pain  when  the  Right  is  forsaken  and 
the  wrong  is  followed. 

The  questions  to  be  considered  are — What  is  Right 
and  Wrong?  How  do  we  obtain  our  conception  of 
them?  What  is  the  cause  or  origin  of  Moral  Obligation 
and  of  the  accompanying  feeling  of  pleasure  and  pain 
within  the  human  Soul?  and  what  is  the  Moral  Argument 
for  the  Being  of  God? 

Men  have  naturally  looked  upon  these  things  with 
profoundest  wonder,  sometimes  even  with  awe.  A  Great 
Mystery  has  been  thrown  over  and  around  them,  not 
only  by  men  in  general,  but  also  by  philosophers.  The 
Human  Conscience  seems  to  have  been  often  regarded 
as  a  Special  Gift  and  Revelation  from  Heaven,  making 
known  unto  men  their  relation  to  God  their  Maker,  as 
their  Supreme  Ruler,  Law-giver  and  Judge.  It  has  been 
called  the  Voice  of  God,  as  though  God  were  Himself 
present  with,  and  though  invisible,  spoke  audibly  to  the 
Soul  and  in  such  a  way  that  it  cannot  but  turn  a  listening 
26 


402  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

Conscience  tbe  IDoice  of  ©oD 


€ar.  Properly  considered,  such  Mystery  may  well  be  en- 
couraged and  enforced.  In  a  sense,  which  is  far  from 
untrue  and  unreal,  Conscience  is  the  Voice  of  God  speak- 
ing to  men,  and  they  should  with  all  sincerity  be  urged 
to  give  heed  to  and  obey  its  Divine  monitions. 

"  Oh  keep  thy  Conscience  sensitive, 
No  inward  token  miss. 
And  go  where  "  it  "  entices  thee  ; 
Perfection  lies  in  this." 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  it  is  owing  to  this  inward 
Voice  of  God  that  man  has  ever  been  a  religious  being. 
God  has  not  permitted  Himself  to  be  forgotten  and  dis- 
regarded of  men.  This  great  imperious  Reality  of  human 
nature  cannot  be  ignored ;  it  demands  and  must  receive 
Scientific  consideration,  as  much  so  as  any  other  of  the 
great  realities  with  which  we  have  to  do.  To  disregard 
it  is  to  be  unscientific. 

But  while  the  wonderful  character  of  this  Reality, 
which  is  so  wonderful  that  it  cannot  be  exaggerated,  re- 
mains and  must  remain,  a  false  mystery  must  not  be 
thrown  upon  it,  as  has  often  been  done,  in  the  philo- 
sophical inquiry  concerning  it.  It  has  been  spoken  of  as 
an  "Inspiration,"  a  "Revelation"  within  the  Soul,  an 
"Innate  Conviction,"  a  "Heaven-born  Belief,"  a  "Native 
Assurance,"  a  "Part  of  the  Constitution  of  our  Spiritual 
Being,"  an  "Original  Impress  of  the  Creator  upon  the 
Soul."  Such  a  representation  as  this  we  throw  aside 
altogether  as  being  mystic,  unscientific  and  unsatis- 
factory ;  it  is  itself  mexplicable  and  gives  no  explanation 
of  the  Reality.  As  an  explanation  it  is  inconceivable. 
It  is  simply  the  declaration  that  we  are  Moral  Agents 
because  we  are ;  we  are  so  made.  With  creative,  mirac- 
ulous, or  supernatural  power  all  things  are  possible;  but 
we  cannot  conceive  how  our  knowledge  of  Right  and 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  403 

IRlgbt  tbe  ©reat  TRealits 


Wrong  and  our  assured  obligation  in  regard  to  them, 
enforced  by  the  feehngs  of  pleasure  and  pain,  can  in  any 
definite  and  true  sense  be  inborn,  or  implanted  within 
the  Soul  at  its  origin. 

The  only  thing  conceivable  in  regard  to  original  en- 
dowment is,  that  as  spiritual  beings  we  have  intelligence, 
emotion  and  will  of  such  degree,  that  we  are  capable  of 
perceiving  Right  and  Wrong  as  we  do  other  Realities 
and  of  being  suitably  impressed  by  them  when  they  are 
perceived,  just  as  we  perceive  and  are  impressed  by  the 
beautiful,  the  sublime  and  the  terrible  aspects  of  Nature. 
Our  Moral  perceptions  and  feelings  are  no  more  "In- 
nate," than  are  those  which  we  have  of  the  world  of 
Nature. 

In  unfolding  the  true  character  of  Moral  Good  and 
Obligation,  it  must  first  be  explained  what  is  meant  by 
Right  and  Wrong.  The  Terms  are  correlative.  We 
know  the  one  and  in  so  doing,  in  some  measure,  know 
the  other.  To  some  degree,  they  are  the  positive  and 
the  negative  thought  of  the  same  thing.  Between  them 
there  is  an  Eternal,  indelible  Distinction.  Right  is  the 
great  Reality.  Conceived  of  as  such  in  itself  it  is  the 
Nature  and  the  Will  of  God.  Right  is  Right  because 
God  is  God.  Conceived  of  in  reference  to  His  intelligent 
creatures.  Right  is  conformity  unto  the  Nature  and  the 
revealed  Will  of  God.  This  is  the  Eternal,  essential  and 
indelible  Reality  of  Moral  Good. 

To  know  that  this  Reality  is  and  to  know  what  it  is, 
we  must  know  that  God  is  and  we  must  know  what  He 
is  in  His  own  Nature  and  what  He  requires  of  us. 

While  Right  has  its  Eternal  Reality  in^God,  Wrong 
has  its  reality  only  in  created  intelligences.  It  is  that 
which  is  contrary  to  the  Nature  and  the  revealed  Will  of 
God.  Had  intelligent  beings  never  been  at  variance 
with    God,  Wrong  would    have    been  an    impossibility; 


404  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  Sec. 

flboral  (5oo&  in  Cbaracter 


there  never  would  have  been  feelings  of  self-condemna- 
tion, reproach,  shame,  demerit,  with  apprehension  and 
fear  of  consequent  evil. 

In  the  next  place,  such  being  the  essential  nature  of 
Right  and  Wrong,  it  is  evident  that  Moral  Good  belongs 
to  and  inheres  in  the  nature  and  character  of  men,  and 
is  not  from  and  confined  to  their  free,  voluntary  acts. 
The  expressions  used  by  some  writers  seem  to  intimate 
that  all  moral  good  is  to  be  found  only  in  the  voluntary 
acts  of  what  they  call  Free  Will.  This  is  manifestly 
incorrect. 

If  our  abiding  character  is  in  harmony  with  the  Nature 
and  the  Will  of  God,  that  is  the  requirements  of  God,  it 
is  Morally  Good  ;  and  it  is  this  abiding  character  which 
gives  Moral  character  to  our  voluntary  acts.  The  vol- 
untary acts  of  a  man,  whose  abiding  character,  that  is, 
whose  prevailing  thoughts,  emotions,  habits,  education, 
training,  tendencies,  aims,  aspirations  are  morally  good, 
are  good  because  of  this.  The  voluntary  acts  of  a  bad 
man  are  bad,  because  he  is  himself,  in  his  own  character, 
bad.  Every  thing  depends  upon  the  moral  nature,  or 
character  which  is  behind  and  gives  moral  character  to 
our  voluntary  acts.  A  mere  voluntary  act  has  and  can 
have  no  virtue.  It  is  without  meaning  and  is  worthless, 
as  it  is  not  expressive  of  the  man's  nature,  or  character, 
his  intents,  motives,  impulses.  The  very  same  act  done 
by  one  man  may  be  good  and  done  by  another  man 
may  be  bad.  The  very  same  act  done  by  the  same  man 
is  good  or  bad  according  to  the  thought,  motive,  im- 
pulse, which  prompted  and  determined  it,  and  according 
to  the  aprobation  or  disapprobation  which  he  gives  it. 
Until  we  know  what  Hes  back  of  the  voluntary  act,  till 
we  know  from  what  it  proceeds,  we  cannot  tell  what  its 
moral  character  is. 

Again,    it    must    be    remembered    that    most    decided 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  405 

irnvoluntarg  Bets  (3oo&  anJ)  :©aJ> 


Moral  character  belongs  to  what  we  may  call  "Involun- 
tary Acts." 

These  are  spontaneous,  irrepressible,  thoughtless,  un- 
intended acts.  Men  often  act  without  deliberate  volun- 
tary action,  without  a  purpose,  without  knowing,  or 
noticing  what  they  say,  or  do ;  and  often  against  reso- 
lutions and  efiforts.  These  acts  may  be  the  outcrop  of 
an  evil  nature  against  which  a  man  is  struggling.  They 
are  not  as  bad  as  they  would  be  if  they  had  his  approba- 
tion and  were  his  deliberate  action,  but  they  are  the  evil 
expression  of  a7i  evil  nature ;  and  it  is  because  of  this 
that  the  individual  is  grieved  who  is  struggling  against 
it.  The  involuntary  acts  of  a  good  man  certainly  have 
a  good  moral  character  and  those  of  a  bad  man  a  bad 
moral  character. 

Again,  if  Moral  Good  be  confined  to  our  voluntary 
acts  it  is  placed  under  the  control  of  the  Will,  as  though 
we  were  morally  good,  or  bad  according  as  we  "will." 
This  is  far  from  true.  No  man  ever  has  made  and  no 
man  can  make  himself  good,  or  bad,  by  his  Will.  This 
would  be  miraculous  power,  equal  to  moving  mountains 
by  an  act  of  the  Will.  He  can  make  himself  good,  or 
bad,  only  indirectly,  by  long  continued  education,  train- 
ing, discipline,  struggles ;  he  must  gradually  build  zip  a 
good  or  bad  character;  and  he  never  succeeds  perfectly; 
evil  will  still  cling  to  the  good  and  good  still  refuse  to 
be  absolutely  destroyed  in  the  bad  man. 

Still  further.  Moral  Good  cannot  be  confined  to  Free 
Will,  because  this  involves  a  wrong  view  of  the  Will  and 
of  Freedom.  The  man  is  a  free-agent,  but  the  Will 
itself  is  not  free.  It  is  no  more  free  than  are  the  other 
attributes  of  the  Soul,  emotion  and  thought.  All  the 
attributes  of  the  Soul  act  and  react  together  as  do  the 
forces  of  the  material  Cosmos.  They  are  inseparably 
bound    together  in  united  action,  and    every  act  is  the 


4o6  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

/IBoral  ©ooO  not  from  ^xcc^Wini 


resulta7tt  of  them  all  acting  together  as  a  unit.  Our 
voluntary  acts  are  of  this  nature.  They  are  the  result 
and  the  expression  of  all  that  the  man  himself  is  in  his 
endowments,  nature,  character.  The  Will  has  no  choice, 
nor  determination,  it  is  simply  Executive  Power.  By  it 
man  puts  himself  into  execution ;  his  thoughts,  motives, 
feelings,  wishes,  character,  purposes,  as  we  point  out  in 
the  chapter  on  the  Will.  Our  voluntary  acts  are  all 
determined  by  what  we  ourselves  are,  otherwise  they 
would  be  without  meaning,  and  thoroughly  worthless, 
neither  good  nor  bad. 

So  far  from  proceeding  from  Free-Will,  or  from  man 
as  a  free-agent.  Moral  Good  resides  in  the  man's  nature, 
in  his  formed  and  established  character,  which  the  Will 
does  not,  and  cannot  determine  and  which  the  Will  does 
and  must  obey;  the  obedience  is  oft-times  against  our 
better  resolutions  and  our  earnest  desires.  We  do 
wrong  repeatedly  in  spite  of  ourselves,  our  own  evil 
nature  compelling  us. 

There  is  at  times  apparent  contradiction  in  regard  to 
the  Will  in  the  minds  of  many.  They  often  say  *'We 
act  against  our  Will."  But  the  act  is  itself  an  act  of  the 
Will.  How  then  can  the  Will  act  against  itself?  The 
difficulty  arises  from  wrong  thoughts  as  to  the  Will. 
Choice  and  determination  are  attributed  to  it  instead  of 
only  executive  power.  Preferences,  wishes,  determina- 
tions, resolutions,  choice  all  belong  to  other  attributes 
of  the  Soul.  Wishes,  preferences,  "pleasure  in"  belong 
to  the  emotional  attributes.  Determinations,  resolu- 
tions, conclusions,  etc.  belong  to  the  Cognitive  attributes; 
they  come  from  reasoning,  comparing,  weighing,  con- 
sidering, judging,  and  the  Choice  made  is  from  all  these 
acting  together,  the  resultant  of  the  activities  of  the 
emotional  and  cognitive  attributes.  Choice  is  the  wish, 
preference  rationally  selected  and  determined  upon.    This 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  407 

•ffmposcs  ©bUgation 


is  then  executed  by  the  action  of  the  Will.  Hence  we 
may  have  a  Voluntary  act  which  is  against  not  the  Will, 
but  against  our  Choice,  that  is  against  the  thing  selected 
by  our  own  wishes,  or  preferences,  reasoning  and  de- 
termination, apart  from  other  considerations,  or  in- 
fluences. 

This  presentation  of  the  Will  as  only  Executive  Power 
makes  it  all  the  more  clear  and  definite  that  Moral  Good 
does  not  proceed  from,  and  is  not  confined  to  its  acts. 

In  the  next  place — Moral  Good,  being  conformity  to 
the  Nature  and  Will  of  God  and  residing  in  the  nature 
and  character  of  the  Soul,  imposes  Obligation.  It  is 
supreme,  imperious ;  it  enjoins  Duty  and  enforces  its  re- 
quirements with  rewards  and  punishments.  It  refuses 
to  be  banished,  or  effectually  suppressed.  This  is  the 
marked  and  ineffaceable  characteristic  of  Moral  Good 
within  the  human  Soul  and  is  universal  among  men. 
Men  know  that  they  are  under  obligation,  that  it  is  their 
duty  to  observe  the  rule  of  Moral  Good  and  that  they 
carry  within  themselves  the  reward  of  being  and  doing 
right,  and  the  punishment  of  being  and  doing  wrong; 
they  have  the  most  decided  thought  and  feeling  of  merit 
and  demerit,  of  Personal  good  and  ill-desert. 

Another  most  marked  characteristic  of  all  this  is  that 
Moral  Good  and  Obligation  are  inseparably  connected 
with  the  thought  and  assurance  of  God.  This  is  so  truly 
the  fact  that  this  latter  is  essential  for  the  former.  That, 
which  is  called  Conscience,  takes  its  character  and  its 
very  being  from  the  thought  of  God.  As  the  thought 
of  God  varies,  so  does  Conscience  vary  within  individuals. 
Those  whose  thought  of  God  is  low  and  mean,  unworthy, 
crude,  have  a  Conscience  of  a  corresponding  character. 
Those  whose,  whole  Soul  is  expanded  and  glorified  by  a 
thought  of  God  exalted,  sublime,  have  within  them  a 
Conscience    like    unto    this    soul    elevating    conception. 


4o8  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

Conscience  DepenOs  on  (5o& 


The  Conscience  of  the  Christian,  inspired  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Living  God  revealed  in  Christ,  is  what 
is  truly  named  an  Enlightened  Conscience,  differing  from 
that  of  the  ignorant  and  the  debased  as  day  differs  from 
night. 

Moreover,  it  is  a  familiar  fact  that  among  men  around 
us  their  Conscience  rises  and  falls  in  reality  and  power 
with  their  rising  and  falling  belief  in  God.  Where  faith 
in  God  reigns  supreme  there  Conscience  holds  sway ;  as 
skepticism  and  infidelity  enter  Conscience  grows  feeble 
and  dies  out.  The  reason  why  men  cannot  completely 
eradicate  Conscience  from  within  them  is  because  they 
cannot  rid  themselves  of  all  thought  of  God ;  and  when 
the  moment  comes  that  God  reveals  Himself  to  those 
who  have  long  shut  their  eyes  and  darkened  their  minds, 
Conscience  awakens  from  slumber  with  overruling, 
crushing  power. 

It  is  because  of  this  essential  thought  of  God  in  Moral 
Good  and  Obligation  that  Conscience  is,  and  may  truly 
be  called,  the  Voice  of  God  within  the  Soul.  Byron 
speaks  of  it  thus,  "Conscience  is  the  oracle  of  God." 
And  this  affords  that  which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  impressive  proofs  of  the  Being  of 
God.  This  is  called  the  Moral  Argument  and  is  one 
which  is  appreciated  by  all  men. 

By  Conscience  we  are  not  to  understand  a  special 
attribute,  or  combination  of  attributes,  nor  a  peculiar  en- 
dowment of  the  Soul,  or  constitutional  character,  or 
innate  conviction.  It  is  simply  the  activity,  experience, 
or  phenomena  of  ourselves  as  spiritual  beings  sufificiently 
high  in  rank  of  intelligence,  emotion  and  will  to  perceive 
and  appreciate  the  revelation  of  God,  which  is  given 
to  us. 

There  is  the  Great  Reality  of  Right,  and  the  Reality 
of  Wrong,  and  in  regard  to  these  we  stand  as  we  do  to 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  409 

mot  a  Special  Bttrlbute 


all  Realities  spiritual  and  material  within  our  reach.  We 
perceive  the  Realities  of  the  Soul  and  of  the  world  of 
Nature  and  have  emotions  due  to  the  perception  of  the 
wonderful,  the  sublime,  the  beautiful,  the  pleasing,  the 
terrible,  the  commonplace.  So  also  we  perceive  the 
Realities  of  Right  and  Wrong  and  in  so  doing  ex- 
perience emotions  due  to  the  perception  of  these.  Thus 
to  perceive  and  feel  is  to  have  Conscience.  To  be  blind 
to  these  things  and  hence  without  the  corresponding 
emotions  is  to  be  without  Conscience. 

We  have  been  speaking  and  shall  continue  to  speak  of 
Conscience  in  the  highest  and  true  sense  of  the  word. 
There  is  a  lower  form  of  it,  in  virtue  of  which  men  deal 
rightly  with  one  another  without  thought,  or  care  of  any 
thing  beyond.  But  even  this  has  its  real  foundation  and 
its  true  strength  and  reliability  in  Conscience  towards 
God.  Its  standard  is  the  nature  of  God  and  His 
requirements  of  man  in  relation  to  his  fellow  man,  and 
the  established  rules,  laws  and  recognized  proprieties  of 
human  society,  and  the  natural  necessities  of  human 
nature,  man's  dependence  upon  and  need  of  others  and 
also  each  individual's  own  regard  to  his  position,  his 
property,  his  own  wishes  and  demands. 

Having  made  these  statements  of  the  true  character  of 
Moral  Good  and  Obligation  within  the  Soul,  we  have 
now  to  unfold  the  origin  of  it  among  men;  an  origin 
which  has  made  it  necessary  and  universal. 

Origin  of  Moral  Obligation. 

The  Soul  of  Man  comes  into  Being  with  the  full  en- 
dowment of  all  its  attributes  and  laws,  but  as  immature 
and  undeveloped  as  was  the  original,  attenuated,  motion- 
less, dark  Nebula,  which  has  developed  or  evolved  into 
the  present  Universe,  the  Cosmos.  Thus  coming  into 
Being,  it  was  in  vital  union  with  the  microscopic,  imma- 


4ro  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

/IRan'5  Dependence  anO  Ikelations 


ture,  material  germ  or  organism  at  the  very  incipience 
of  its  existence.  The  spiritual  and  the  material  develop 
together  and  the  man  is  born  into  the  world.  As  he  de- 
rives his  origin  from  Creative  power,  so  also  he  has  from 
the  same  source  his  entire  environment  and  consequent 
experience. 

Being  by  original  endowment  of  sufficiently  high  rank 
in  intelligence,  emotion  and  will  to  be  a  Moral  Agent,  he 
developes  into  such  by  reason  of  the  environment  which 
is  his  from  birth  to  death,  and  is  a  Moral  Agent  of 
greater  or  less  superiority  according  as  his  environment 
from  beginning  to  end  is  more  or  less  favorable  for 
Moral  superiority,  and  according  to  the  character  of  his 
own  response  to  or  use  of  it. 

That  which  distinguishes  the  human  infant  above  the 
offspring  of  all  other  creatures  is  its  helplessness  and  its 
long-continued  dependence  upon  parents  or  others;  and 
the  conspicuous  characteristic  of  humanity  is  the  close- 
ness of  the  bond  by  which  man  is  bound  to  his  fellowmen 
in  families,  communities,  tribes,  societies,  nations  and 
the  one  great  world  of  mankind,  the  common  Brother- 
hood of  Men.  No  man  liveth  to  himself,  no  man  dieth 
to  himself,  every  individual  is  of  necessity  a  member  of 
the  one  family  of  Man  where  every  individual  is  depend- 
ent upon  all  the  rest;  where  all  are  related  with  intimate 
and  manifold  relationships;  where  all  mould  and  fashion 
one  another  in  character,  experience  and  conduct;  where 
all  struggle  together  in  the  ceaseless  strife  for  mastery 
and  gain,  subduing  and  being  subdued,  defending  them- 
selves and  property,  favoring  friends  and  executing  ven- 
geance upon  all  opponents ;  and  where  of  necessity 
authority  and  rule  prevail  and  are  maintained  and  en- 
forced by  rewards  and  punishments;  and  where,  invisible 
yet  ever  present  and  made  known,  God  controls  and 
overrules. 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  411 

/iBoulSiiiQ,  jFasbioning  power 


From  this  men  never  have  been  and  can  not  be  free; 
and  this  is  the  Moulding,  Fashioning  Power  by  which 
men  are  developed  necessarily  into  Moral  Agents,  and 
according  to  the  plan  and  purpose  and  working  of  the 
Great  Creator. 

The  development  reveals  itself  and  may  readily  be 
traced  from  its  beginning,  Man,  being  what  he  is,  as 
just  pointed  out,  is  born  into  the  world  perfectly  helpless 
and  utterly  dependent.  This  is  his  first  consciousness,  a 
consciousness  long  continued  and  mightily  bearing  upon 
him  during  the  most  impressible  and  the  formative 
period  of  his  experience.  This  consciousness  involves 
that  of  parental  supremacy,  authority  and  control,  with 
the  enforcement  thereof  by  rewards  and  punishments. 
This  appears  with  the  dawning  intelligence  of  the  infant. 
His  earliest  experience  is  delight  in  a  mother's  smile  and 
aversion  to  her  averted  face  or  frown.  This  is  deepened 
and  strengthened  as  the  years  roll  on,  ofttimes  even  to 
young  manhood.  This  is  his  world  in  which  he  lives^ 
the  only  one  which  he  has  known,  the  world  which  has 
fashioned  and  sta^nped  his  very  being,  into  conformity 
to  which  he  has  grown,  and  for  which  alone  he  is  fitted. 
Such  dependence,  with  all  that  it  involves,  he  regards  as 
a  "matter  of  course,"  the  established  state  of  Nature. 
The  definite  experience  which  has  thus  fashioned  him^ 
which  is  his  earliest  remembrance,  which  has  held  him 
from  infancy  to  manhood,  he  can  never  destroy. 

This  contains  within  itself  all  the  essential  elements  of 
Moral  Good  and  Moral  Obligation ;  dependence,  su- 
premacy, authority,  control,  duty,  obedience  enforced  by 
rewards  and  punishment,  the  delight  in  the  one,  the  fear 
of  and  shrinking  from  the  other.  Let  God  take  the 
place  of  parent  and  the  work  is  complete,  the  Moral 
Being  in  the  true  and  highest  sense  is  developed. 

Hence    the    importance   of   parental    training.     If   the 


412  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

Xater  Bipcrlencc  of  /ilbcn 


child  be  wayward  and  ungoverned,  caring  neither  for  the 
smile  nor  frown  of  the  parent,  he  will  have  no  conscience 
toward  God.  As  is  his  attitude  to  the  parent  so  is  his 
attitude  to  God.  During  infancy  and  earliest  childhood 
the  parent  is  God  to  the  child;  but  there  must  be  no 
usurpation  on  his  part  of  the  Divine  Throne ;  with  dawn- 
ing intelligence  the  child  must  be  directed  Godward. 

All  the  later  experience  of  the  individual  is  of  such  a 
character  as  to  confirm  and  give  further  development  to 
the  impression  already  made  even  in  the  rudest  stages  of 
human  society.  Entered  upon  manhood,  the  individual 
finds  immediately  that  of  necessity  he  must  either  rule 
or  be  ruled  in  the  world's  battle,  in  the  struggle  for 
existence.  In  fact  he  both  rules  over  some  and  is  him- 
self ruled  by  others ;  it  is  true  of  every  one  that  he  is 
both  Lord  and  Servant;  and  both  of  these  alike  develop 
the  Moral  character.  So  far  as  he  has  the  mastery  he  is 
conscious  of  all  the  elements  of  a  Moral  Agent.  He  is 
supreme  over  others;  they  are  dependent  upon  him;  his 
is  authority,  control ;  he  commands  and  enforces  obe- 
dience by  his  favor  and  displeasure,  rewards  and  punish- 
ment; he  imposes  the  sense  of  obligation,  duty,  towards 
himself,  of  merit  and  demerit  with  desire  for  and  delight 
in  his  approbation  and  fear  of  his  wrath.  He  esteems 
also  his  own  rights  and  privileges  and  property,  resents 
all  encroachment  upon  them  and  requires  the  acknowl- 
edgment and  respect  of  them  from  others;  in  his  thought 
and  esteem  such  acknowledgment  and  respect  are  7'ight  ; 
all  encroachment  is  wrong; — the  right  is  that  which 
ought  to  be ;  the  wrong  is  that  which  ought  not  to  be. 
Whatever  be  the  social  position  of  men,  from  king  to 
peasant,  this  is  essentially  on  some  scale  the  experience 
of  all. 

The  reverse  of  this  is  equally  true.  So  far  as  the  indi- 
vidual, instead  of  having  the  mastery,  is  himself  mastered 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  413 

IFnDlvlOuallB  an5  Collectively 


he  has  the  correlative  experience  and  its  correlative 
moral  development ;  the  man  learns  duty  and  obedience, 
and  seeks  to  gain  favor  and  to  escape  from  displeasure. 

Again,  if  and  when  the  individual  becomes  a  father  he 
is  conscious  of  being  in  himself  all  that  he  once  regarded 
his  parents  as  being  in  their  relation  to  him,  and  he 
develops  within  his  own  child  the  very  same  character, 
attitude  and  conduct  which  were  originally  developed 
within  himself  in  his  own  childhood  experience. 

All  thus  far  presented  is  the  statement  of  facts  which 
can  neither  be  denied  nor  explained  away,  and  which 
prove  conclusively  that  the  conception  of  dependency,, 
supremacy,  right  and  wrong,  obligation,  oughtness, 
duty,  merit,  demerit,  desire  for  and  pleasure  in  favor, 
fear  of  and  shrinking  from  displeasure,  is  developed 
within  men  and  made  most  familiar  and  indelible  by  the 
environment  and  consequent  experience  from  infancy 
throughout  life  which  are  theirs,  and  which  must  of 
necessity  be  theirs  because  of  infantile  helplessness  and 
dependence  and  because  of  the  relations  by  which  men 
are  bound  to  one  another. 

Still  further,  that  which  is  true  of  men  individually,  is 
true  also  of  them  collectively  as  communities,  tribes, 
societies  and  nations.  In  these  there  is  necessarily  the 
supreme  power,  with  its  rights  and  privileges,  its  prerog- 
atives, its  authority,  its  control,  its  laws,  its  require- 
ments, its  rewards,  its  punishments,  enjoining  duty,  en- 
forcing obedience,  holding  and  defending  property, 
regarding  all  encroachment  upon  its  possessions,  its 
authority,  its  honor,  its  privileges  as  w7^ong,  and  all  ac- 
knowledgment of  and  respect  for  these  as  right,  im- 
pressing fear  of  its  displeasure  and  desire  for  and  delight 
in  its  favor.  Here  again,  we  have  all  the  experience  as 
to  Right  and  Wrong  and  Obligation,  had  in  infancy  and 
childhood,  enlarged  and  enforced. 


414  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

presence  aiiD  ^anitestAtion 


As  thus  implanted  within  the  Soul,  the  Conception  of 
Right  is  that  of  confortnity  to  the  character  and  require- 
fnents  of  those  above  us,  upon  whom  we  are  dependent, 
who  have  authority  and  control  over  us,  enjoining  obli- 
gation, duty  and  enforcing  obedience,  and  whose  favor 
is  our  well  being,  our  life  and  whose  displeasure  is  our 
destruction,  our  death,  whose  favor  we  consequently 
seek  and  whose  displeasure  we  strive  to  avoid. 

But  there  is,  as  already  mentioned,  another  essential 
element  in  the  environment  of  men  from  infancy  through- 
out life,  and  that  is  the  Presence  and  Manifestation  of 
God.  God  has  always  been  present  with  men  and  has  so 
manifested  Himself  that  they  have  ever  been  without  ex- 
cuse if  they  deny  Him ;  and  they  never  have  been  able 
to  destroy  within  themselves  the  thought  and  the  assur- 
ance of  His  Being  and  Presence.  To  men  in  general 
God  has  revealed  Himself  in  Nature,  including  the  human 
Soul,  and  in  so  doing  has  made  Himself  known  as  the 
Supreme  Being,  the  Creator,  the  Ruler  of  all,  the  one 
upon  whom  all  are  dependent,  in  whose  power  and  at 
whose  disposal  all  men  are,  whose  favor  is  life,  whose 
displeasure  is  death. 

This  thought  of  God  being  the  life-long  familiar  one, 
the  one  from  which  men  cannot  escape,  all  the  concep- 
tions of  Right  and  Wrong  and  of  Obligation,  of  rewards 
and  punishments  due  to  man's  environment  and  exper- 
ience from  infancy  onward  are  thereby  taught  and  en- 
forced in  a  higher  sphere,  and  men  are  lifted  up  into 
Moral  Beings  in  the  true  and  full  meaning  of  the  words. 
And  this  Conception  of  Moral  Good  and  of  Moral  Obli- 
gation is  raised  to  its  highest  character  in  the  minds  of 
men  when  they  learn  to  know  God  in  the  brightness  of 
His  Glory,  as  revealed  in  Christ ;  theirs  is  then  a  Con- 
science towards  God  enlightened  with  His  Light. 

This  Explanation  of  the  Origin  of  Moral  Obligation, 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  415 

Qt  (3oD  in  IRature  anD  in  /IRcn 


together  with  the  conception  of  Right  and  Wrong  is  free 
from  mysticism  ;  it  is  the  statement  of  indisputable  facts ; 
it  does  explain  that  origin,  and  in  a  reasonable,  thor- 
oughly scientific  manner;  it  meets  all  the  requirements 
of  the  case,  presents  Moral  Good  as  inherent  in  the  abid- 
ing character  of  men  ;  and  referring  man's  rank  in  intel- 
ligence, emotion  and  will,  and  also  his  environment, 
including  God's  manifested  Presence  as  an  abiding,  es- 
sential element  thereof,  from  infancy  to  end  of  life,  to  the 
plan  and  act  of  the  Creator,  it  makes,  in  very  deed  and 
truth,  Conscience  to  be  the  Voice  of  God  within  the 
human  Soul,  the  Divine  Oracle  within,  which  men  have 
always  heard  and  which  they  cannot  effectually  silence. 

It  is  a  known  fact  that  there  is  a  self-evident  manifes- 
tation of  God  in  Nature,  including  mankind,  which  men 
cannot  help  perceiving  and  that  such  is  its  character  that 
it  induces  within  them  Conscience,  with  all  its  essential 
elements.  When  men  look  forth  upon  Nature,  they  can 
not  help  perceiving  the  display  of  mighty  power,  before 
which  they  are  utterly  helpless,  a  power  at  times  wonder- 
fully beneficent,  life-giving,  with  harmony  and  beauty 
everywhere ;  at  other  times  terrific,  destructive  with 
wide-spread  desolation  and  death. 

Fire  leaps  beyond  control,  runs  over  plains  and  through 
boundless  forests  with  irresistible  and  appalling  might 
from  which  men  and  their  habitations  cannot  escape; 
tempests  by  sea  and  land  sweep  all  before  them  to 
irreparable  destruction ;  floods  make  havoc  of  all 
things,  tossing  and  rolling  onward.  Lightning  seems 
omnipotent  as  it  strikes  and  destroys  at  pleasure  and 
with  its  reverberating  thunderings  is  awe-inspiring.  The 
Extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  alike  inimical,  the 
regions  where  they  hold  sway,  the  treeless,  boundless 
equatorial  plains,  the  lakes  of  liquid  fire  within  and  flow- 
ing frqjn  volcanic  craters,  the  far  north  and  south,  the 


4i6  VJII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

UnDelible  Umpression  of 


cloud-piercing  mountain  peaks  covered  with  perpetual 
ice  and  snow,  are  impenetrable  under  pain  of  imminent 
death.  The  clouds,  the  sky,  the  stars  are  beyond  the 
reach  of  man's  utmost  effort  and  seem  the  dwelling  place 
and  expression  of  powers  infinite,  mysterious.  Men 
know  themselves  to  be  the  very  sport  of  such  powers 
thus  seen  everywhere  around  them,  less  than  dust  par- 
ticles in  the  whirlwind.  Yet  these  very  powers,  fire, 
wind  and  water,  heat  and  cold  and  mystic  electric  force, 
all  combine  to  administer  to  his  comfort,  his  well-being, 
his  very  life,  without  them  he  cannot  be ;  and  the  high 
altitudes  of  clouds  and  upper  air  and  skies  and  the 
infinite  expanse  of  the  overarching  star-lighted  heavens 
have  a  beauty,  grandeur,  splendor,  serenity  filling  the 
minds  of  men  with  peace,  confidence  and  trust  in  the 
Being  of  the  One  dwelling  within  these  and  above  them. 

Thus  inspired  from  without,  men  know  from  the  inspi- 
ration within,  from  the  consciousness  of  their  own  spirit- 
ual selves  and  of  their  necessary  relations  with  their 
fellow-beings,  that  the  Supreme  One  revealed  by  the 
activities  and  the  aspects  of  Nature  is  a  Spiritual  Being 
in  fellowship  with  men,  maintaining  His  exalted  honor 
and  requirements  with  goodness  and  with  severity. 

Because  of  all  this  men  have  indelibly  impressed  upon 
them  the  assurance  of  a  Supreme  over-ruling  Power 
from  which  they  cannot  escape,  governing  them  at 
pleasure,  whose  favor  is  life,  whose  displeasure  is  death; 
conformity  to  whom  and  to  whose  requirements  is 
Right  and  want  of  such  conformity  is  Wrong.  Right  is 
Right  because  God  is  God ;  Right  is  the  Great  Reality 
which  all  men  see  because  they  see  everywhere  around 
and  within  them  the  Manifested  Reality,  Presence,, 
Supremacy  and  Character  of  God ;  a  manifestation  which 
they  cannot  help  seeing,  and  the  moulding,  fashioning 
power  of  which  they  must  of  necessity  experience. 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  417 

a  Supreme  ©ver*1Ruling  ipower 


Thus  Conscience  is  evoked;  and  because  it  is  thus 
created  within  men,  divinely  made  for  its  indwelling  and 
activity,  it  is  the  veritable  Voice  of  God  within  the  Soul 
of  Man,  unceasingly,  irrepressibly  audible. 

We  have  been  speaking  of  Conscience  in  its  natural 
aspect  and  purely  scientifically.  In  a  far  higher  and 
additional  aspect  it  may  be  called  the  Voice  of  God, 
because  of  the  direct  communion  of  the  Divine  Spirit 
with  the  human  Soul;  but  this  is  the  supernatural. 

The  Moral  Argument  for  the  Being  of  God  is  here 
introduced  to  the  best  advantage  in  immediate  connec- 
tion with  this  presentation  of  the  Manifested  Presence  of 
God  evoking  Conscience  within  the  Soul.  And  in  its 
true  character  in  the  light  of  the  explanation,  which  we 
have  given,  of  the  Origin  of  Moral  Good  and  Obligation, 
it  will  be  seen  to  be  better  and  stronger  than  in  the 
form  in  which  it  is  ordinarily  presented.  Thus  abundant 
provision  is  made  for  it  by  all  that  we  have  said,  and 
additional  confirmation  given  to  our  explanation. 

The  Moral  Argument  for  the  Bei7tg  of  God 

This  is  of  great  practical  value.  It  is  this,  perhaps, 
which  above  all  others,  though  by  no  means  neces- 
sarily in  argumentative  form,  which  binds  men  to  God. 
Conscience  is  universal  among  men,  among  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  men.  It  is  necessary,  ineradicable. 
No  ignorance  nor  depravity  can  extinguish  it,  no  learn- 
ing nor  culture  can  destroy  it;  it  holds  men  in  its  om- 
nipotent grasp  in  their  most  frantic  efforts  to  escape. 
Hearing  God's  Voice  within,  men  cannot  deny  that  He 
lives  and  reigns. 

The  Fact  of  Conscience  proves  the  Being  of  God. 

This  is  the  argument    in   its  simplest,  most  practical 
and,  perhaps,  most  efficient  form.     For  proof  of  God's 
Being  we  may  refer  each  one*  to  his  own  Conscience. 
27 


4i8  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

^bou  (3o£>  Seest  tSsc 


But  the  Question  arises,  how  is  the  fact  to  be  ex- 
plained, or  how  may  the  argument  be  presented  more  at 
length?  As  often  given,  the  explanation  and  argument 
are  mystic  and  unsatisfactory.  Thus  Moral  Obligation 
is  often  represented  as,  in  some  sense,  a  supernatural 
revelation  of  God  within  the  Soul.  It  is  the  impress  of 
the  Creator  upon  His  work;  or  Conscience  is  something 
In-Born,  an  Innate  Belief,  an  Original  Conviction,  a 
Heaven-Given  Endowment  of  the  Soul. 

Rejecting  all  these  as  mystic,  unscientific  and  un- 
satisfactory, we  may  present  the  argument  in  one  of  its 
prevalent  forms.  As  man  has  the  Conception  of  a 
Supreme  Being  whom  he  is  bound  to  obey,  there  must 
be  a  living  God  corresponding  to  this  conception;  or 
thus.  It  is  indubitably  true  that  there  is  Conscience  in 
Man  and  from  this  it  is  fair  to  infer  that  God  is.  His 
Being  is  necessarily  involved  in  Conscience,  for  the  very 
idea  of  Conscience  is  that  of  accountability  to  a  Su- 
preme Moral  Governor,  who  rewards  and  punishes;  and 
Conscience  depends  upon  the  assurance  of  God,  it  is 
dull  and  dead  if  there  be  denial  of  Him,  but  it  awakens 
all  alert  and  overpowering  with  the  thought  "Thou  God 
seest  me."  This  argument  is  positive  unless  human 
nature  is  a  falsehood,  which  we  cannot  persuade  ourselves 
to  believe.  If  there  be  no  God,  Conscience  is  a  mere  sub- 
jective affection,  compelling  us  to  believe  in  that  which 
is  not  and  filling  us  with  hopes  and  fears  which  are 
illusive.  Moreover,  the  only  way  in  which  we  can  ex- 
plain Conscience  is,  that  it  is  due  to  One  to  whom  it 
looks  and  upon  whom  it  is  dependent.  The  argument, 
however,  as  thus  stated  gives  no  explanation  kow  Con- 
science is  produced  within  us;  and  it  might  be  claimed 
that  there  is  no  proof,  that  our  Nature  is  not  deceptive, 
and  that  there  may  be  and  are  those  who  regard  Con- 
science as  a  superstition. 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  419 

^be  (Sreat  IRealitfes 


Hence  the  advantage  of  the  Moral  Argument  in  its 
stronger  form  afforded  by  our  exposition  of  the  Origin 
of  Conscience  within  men.  It  is  founded  upon  the  two 
established  facts  upon  which  we  have  dwelt — The  One  is 
the  rank  of  man  as  a  Spiritual  Being,  and  his  total  en- 
vironment, from  the  helplessness  and  dependence  of 
infancy  onward  throughout  life,  in  his  relations  to  his 
fellow-men  developing  him  into  a  Moral  Agent;  and  the 
Second,  the  Presence  of  God  indubitably  manifested  as 
the  Supreme  One  before  whom  men  are  absolutely  help- 
less and  dependent,  a  Manifestation  efficiently  lifting  men 
as  Moral  Agents  up  to  God. 

The  Argument  is  that  this  Manifestation  of  God  must 
be  real  and  true,  because,  as  we  have  pointed  out,  it  is 
suitable  to  and  does  neeessarily  and  luiiversally  cause 
men  as  moral  agents  to  look  up  to  Him  as  their  Supreme 
Ruler.  Here  we  have  a  known  effect  produced  by  a 
known  cause.  The  reality  of  the  effect  proves  the  reality 
of  the  cause.  The  only  Question  which  can  arise,  is — 
May  there  not  be  this  Manifestation  of  God  without  any 
corresponding  Reality? 

There  is  no  such  possibility.  The  Manifestation  itself 
would  need  to  be  accounted  for  and  would  remain  in- 
explicable; an  effect  without  a  cause. 

We  are  face  to  face  with  Realities.  These  are  the 
great  Realities — Ourselves  are  Living  Persons,  we  are 
Moral  Agents;  we  look  up  to  a  Supreme  Ruler;  of  Him 
there  is  a  Manifestation  everywhere  around  and  within 
us  which  necessarily  and  universally  causes  men  to  bow 
before  God  in  conscious  dependence  and  obligation,  and 
for  God,  with  this  efficient  manifestation  of  Himself,  the 
crowning  Reality  of  all  not  to  be  is  well  nigh,  is  indeed 
altogether  unthinkable. 

In  the  next  place,  our  Explanation  provides  for  Moral 
Good  as  inherent  in  the  abiding  character  of  men.     Men 


420  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec 

/iRoral  Cbaractcr 


are  in  their  own  character  morally  good  or  bad.  In  the 
first  place,  they  are  Moral  Agents.  Such  is  their  rank 
as  Spiritual  Beings  that  they  can  know  God  as  their 
Supreme  Ruler,  whom  they  are  bound  to  obey  and 
towards  whom  they  may  have  corresponding  affections. 

In  the  next  place,  Moral  Good  being  conformity  to 
God's  nature  and  revealed  Will,  men  are  in  character 
Morally  good  when  their  character,  that  is  their  prevail- 
ing and  abiding  thoughts,  emotions,  principles,  wishes, 
aims,  habits,  disposition  have  this  conformity;  and  they 
are  in  character  Morally  bad  when  there  is  no  such  con- 
formity. Or,  in  other  words,  the  human  Soul,  the  man 
himself  is  morally  good  or  bad  according  as  he  is,  or  is 
not  in  himself  what  God  would  have  him  be. 

Moral  Good  being  thus  inherent  in  the  character  of 
men,  their  voluntary  acts  are  good  or  bad  according  to 
the  character  of  the  man  whose  acts  they  are.  It  is  the 
man's  moral  character  which  gives  moral  character  to 
his  voluntary  acts;  otherwise  they  are  neither  good  nor 
bad. 

Self  Approbation — Self  Reproach 

Our  Explanation  also  accounts  for  the  feelings  of  Self- 
Approbation  and  Pleasure  in  right-doing,  and  Self-Con- 
demnation  and  Distress  in  wrong-doing,  although  these 
have  been  regarded  as  of  the  deepest  mystery. 

Moral  Obligation  is  enforced  by  rewards  and  punish- 
ments from  the  Power  to  whom  the  obligation  is  due. 
Right-doing  is,  therefore,  inseparably  associated  with  the 
thought  of  happiness,  and  wrong-doing  with  the  thought 
of  misery,  though  the  former  may  be  only  the  smile  and 
the  latter  the  frown  of  the  Ruling  One. 

When  we  do  right  we  know  that  we  have  the  appro- 
bation and  when  we  do  wrong  we  know  that  we  have 
the  condemnation  of  God,  and  the  assurance  necessarily 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  421 

IRewarDs  anO  ipuntsbments 


gives  us  peace  and  hope,  disquiet  and  fear;  and  it  is 
a  soul-elevating  thought  for  us  to  entertain,  ''I  am  ap- 
proved of  God,"  and  a  most  distressing  one,  "  I  am  at 
variance  with  my  Maker  and  Final  Judge." 

It  may  not  be  objected,  that  self-gratulation  and  self- 
reproach  are  experienced  by  men  who  do  not  think  of 
and  do  not  care  for  God.  Notwithstanding  this  it  re- 
mains true,  that  God  and  His  Rule  are  the  foundation  of 
Right  and  Wrong  and  of  all  that  flows  forth  from  them; 
a  Truth  universally  recognized  by  men  and  from  the  in- 
fluence of  which  no  individual  can  altogether  escape,  as 
he  passes  from  infancy  to  manhood  and  onward. 

Moreover,  even  within  the  most  thoughtless  and  care- 
less, these  inward  feelings  of  self-approbation  and  self- 
reproach  spring  into  new  life  and  power  as  the  thought 
of  God  enters  the  mind.  And,  even  though  the  individ- 
ual think  not  of  God,  he  must  necessarily  have  some 
standard  of  Right  and  Wrong  with  which  to  measure 
himself  and  claim  approbation  from  his  fellow-men  and 
from  within ;  and  that  standard  must  be  that  of  the  world 
in  which  he  lives  and  by  which  he  has  been  trained  and 
fashioned.  According  to  that  standard  all  right-doing 
is  praiseworthy  and  all  wrong-doing  is  ill-deserving,  and 
this  standard  is  in  truth  founded  upon  the  world's  knowl- 
edge of  God.  The  individual  has,  therefore,  in  doing 
right  the  approbation  of  his  fellows  and  of  himself,  and 
in  wrong-doing  their  disapprobation  and  his  own  self- 
reproach. 

Moral  Good  and  Obligation  in  Animals 

It  is  of   interest   to  note  the  relation  of  Animals  to 
Moral  Good  and  Moral  Obligation. 
How  far  are  they  Moral  Agents  ? 

There  is  a  wonderful  and  striking  correspondence  be- 
tween animals  and  men  in  their  nature  and  experience. 


422  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

Hnlmale  Ifmmature  /iBoral  Hgents 


Animals  are  true  spiritual  beings;  they  have  intelli- 
gence, emotion  and  will  as  truly  as  ourselves.  They  are 
born  into  the  world  helpless  and  dependent;  they  are 
under  parental  care,  protection,  rule  and  discipline;  they 
are  taught  and  compelled  to  obey  both  by  rewards  and 
punishments,  and  learn  to  delight  in  the  one  and  to  fear 
and  shrink  from  the  other.  Here,  therefore,  are  all  the 
elements  of  Right  and  Wrong  and  Duty. 

Their  further  experience  confirms  this.  Bound  to- 
gether by  varied  relationships,  there  are  rule,  and  obe- 
dience among  them.  Individual  animals,  moreover, 
recognize  and  maintain  their  own  rights  and  privileges 
against  all  encroachments  with  severe  penalties ;  they 
defend  their  own  habitations,  their  mates,  their  young, 
their  food  and,  oft  times,  even  their  own  dignity. 

This  experience  and  development  is  lifted  into  a  higher 
sphere  by  the  presence  and  rule  of  man.  Even  wild 
animals  look  up  to  him  and  fear  to  trespass  against  him. 
Among  domestic  animals  the  elevation  is  more  marked. 
Trained  animals,  the  elephant,  the  horse  and  especially 
the  dog,  know  what  man  requires  and  what  they  ought 
to  do.  To  the  dog  his  master  is  as  God;  he  looks  up  to 
him  as  supreme,  seeks  and  delights  in  his  favor,  fears  his 
wrath  and  has  his  perception  of  duty  enforced  by 
rewards  and  punishments. 

And  this  Morality  inheres  in  their  character.  As  re- 
garded by  men  and  by  themselves  animals  have  a  good 
and  a  bad  character.  They  are  friendly  and  gentle  and 
they  are  vicious ;  they  are  favorites  and  well-treated  and 
are  disliked  and  ill-treated  both  by  men  and  by  one 
another.  Thus  there  is  Animal  Moral  Good  and  Bad 
character. 

We  have  before  noted,  that  animals  are  not  high 
enough  in  rank  to  be  called  Persons,  so  here,  again,  they 
are  not  high  enough  in  the  rank  of  spiritual  being  and 


RIGHT  AND  WRONG  423 

/Dboral  IRecessits  BjplatneD 


experience  to  be  called  Moral  Agents,  but  they  may  be 
regarded  as  immature  or  incipient  Moral  Agents.  But 
they  can  never  mature  into  such;  their  low  rank  as  spir- 
itual beings  forbids  and  prevents  this.  They  can  never 
rise  higher  than  that  which  they  are  by  original  endow- 
ment. 

The  Necessity  Attached  to  Moral  Good  and  Obligation 

The  reason  why  Moral  Good  and  Obligation  is  a  nec- 
essary and  universal  Truth  is  given  by  our  Explanation. 

The  knowledge  of  these  is  necessary  and  universal 
among  men,  because  men,  being  what  they  are  and  cog- 
nizing the  Realities  which  are  and  which  evoke  their  cor- 
responding emotions,  must  of  necessity  cognize  these 
Realities  and  experience  the  emotions  which  they  pro- 
duce. It  is  a  contradiction  for  them  to  cognize  the 
Realities  and  experience  the  emotions  which  they  pro- 
duce and  not  to  cognize  the  one  nor  experience  the  other. 

And  the  reason  why  all  men  know  that  Right  and 
Wrong  are  Right  and  Wrong  always  and  everywhere  is 
because  it  would  be  a  contradiction  for  it  to  be  other- 
wise. These  Realities  cannot  be  and  not  be.  Wherever 
they  are,  there  they  must  necessarily  be. 

Again,  the  reason  why  men  know  that  Right  is  every- 
where and  always  meritorious,  and  Wrong  always  and 
everywhere  ill-deserving,  is  because  it  would  be  a  contra- 
diction for  these  not  to  be  thus.  Right  is  that  which  is 
meritorious — Wrong  is  that  which  is  ill-deserving,  for 
they  are  conformity  and  want  of  conformity  to  the  appro- 
bation of  the  Ruler.  Wherever  they  are  there  must  the 
approbation  and  disapprobation  be. 

When  and  wherever  men  see  an  act,  which  has  to 
them  self-evident  marks  of  that  which  they  know  as 
Virtue,  they  must  recognize  it  as  such  and  as  well-deserv- 
ing, for  where  Virtue  is  there  it  must  be  and  there  it 


424  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS  sec. 

/nban  a  tReltdious  JSeing 


must  of  necessity  have  all  that  which  belongs  to  it  as 
Virtue. 

Moral  Good  is  necessarily  connected  with  happiness 
and  Moral  Evil  with  trouble  because  Moral  Obligation, 
Duty,  is  enforced  by  rewards  and  punishments  and  is 
meritorious.  Right-doing  brings  self-approbation  and 
God's  favor;  Wrong-doing  brings  self-reproach  and  Di- 
vine punishment. 

Section  VI     Religion 

Religion  is  one  of  our  Intuitions.  All  men  know 
Intuitively  what  Religion  is.  It  is  one  of  the  great 
characteristics  of  Man.  Man  has  been  defined  A  Reli- 
gious Animal.  This,  however,  is  very  objectionable. 
Strictly  speaking  Man  is  not  an  animal,  neither  in  Soul 
nor  Body.  He  is  a  human  Spirit  in  vital  union  with  a 
distinctly  human  Body.  He  might  be  called  a  Religious 
Being,  among  the  beings  of  this  world.  He  alone  is 
high  enough  in  rank  to  be  religious. 

We  have  a  religious  Nature  and  a  religious  Life;  this 
latter  is  often  most  crude  and  simple,  and  well  nigh 
utterly  suppressed,  but  it  struggles  on  against  all  adverse 
influences  and  lifts  itself  above  surrounding  spiritual 
wreck  and  ruin,  as  though  it  were  a  deathless  thing. 
The  history  of  mankind,  moreover,  is  largely  the  history 
of  Religion. 

The  derivative  meaning  of  "Religion"  is  "that  which 
binds."  It  is  that  which  binds  man  above  all  things 
else,  it  is  his  '^  Supreme  Duty T  One  of  the  best  Defi- 
nitions ever  given  of  Religion  is  the  answer  in  the  child's 
catechism  to  the  question.  What  is  your  Duty  to  God? 
"  I  must  first  learn  to  know  Him  and  then  I  must  do 
every  thing  to  please  Him."  It,  therefore,  has  its  two 
aspects,  the  inward  and  the  outward.  It  consists  in 
the    knowledge    of    God    and    the    proper    disposition 


VT  RELIGION  425 

TReUgion  ^onotbeistic 


towards  Him  and  outward  service.  This  latter  is  *'Cul- 
tus,"  worship,  adoration,  praise,  thanksgiving,  prayer 
and  obedience  in  the  doing  of  His  commands  and  ap- 
pointed work. 

Though  Man  as  Man  is  religious,  the  individual  may 
be  irreligious,  because  he  may  rise  in  rebellion  against 
Religion  and  seek  to  live  regardless  of  it ;  but  this  is  the 
introduction  of  discord  and  is  destructive  of  true  man- 
hood. 

There  can  be  no  true  manhood  and  womanhood  with- 
out Religion. 

It  is  almost  identical  with  "Moral  Obligation,"  as  we 
have  unfolded  it,  that  is  "Conscience  towards  God," 
Duty  to  God  being  its  essential  character.  Religion 
may  be  regarded  as  the  efficient  and  practical  Aspect  of 
Conscience.  Man's  Nature  is  Religious,  because  moulded 
and  fashioned  by  Conscience,  and  being  thus  fashioned, 
its    outward    expression   is  "Cultus,"   worship,    service. 

Man  has  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  experience  of 
the  corresponding  emotions  which  it  produces,  rever- 
ence, love,  fear,  obedience,  desire  to  please  and  to  seek 
God's  favor,  and  he  is  thus  prompted  and  impelled  to 
live  the  life  of  a  worshipper  and  servant  of  God. 

And  as  Conscience  is,  as  we  have  pointed  out.  Con- 
science towards  a  Personal,  Supreme  Ruler,  Religion, 
springing  as  it  does  from  it,  is  in  its  true  form  and  as  a 
matter  of  fact  in  its  original  and  in  its  advanced  develop- 
ment Monotheistic,  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  One 
Living  Personal  God. 

Because  Religion  thus  springs  from  Conscience,  the 
Theistic  Argument  founded  upon  man's  religious  Nature 
and  History,  to  which  great  prominence  is  being  given 
at  present,  is  in  fact  a  form  of  the  Moral  Argument. 

Man's  Religious  history  proves  his  ReHgious  Nature; 
his  Religious  Nature  proves  his  Moral  Nature,  the  efi- 


426  VIII     NECESSARY  TRUTHS 

"Keligious  C^belstlc  Bcflument 


dent  Reality  of  Conscience  within  him,  and  Conscience 
affords  the  assurance  of  a  Personal  God. 

As  thus  presented  the  Religious  Argument  loses  noth- 
ing of  its  power  and  value,  but  has  these  augmented,  as 
it  explains  the  origin  of  Religion  within  the  human  Soul, 
instead  of  referring  it  to  a  mysterious,  inexplicable,  in- 
nate Instinct. 

The  Established  Explanation  of  Necessary  Truths 

Thus  by  all  the  illustrations  which  we  have  given  and 
by  the  application  of  the  Truth  in  explanation  of  differ- 
ent problems  we  have  made  it  evident,  that  the  Neces- 
sity attached  to  all  Necessary  Truths  is  founded  upon 
and  springs  from  the  Law  of  Non- Contradiction,  which 
is  itself  known  by  Immediate  Cognition. 

We  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  Will,  our 
Intuitions  of  Executive  Power,  Freedom  and  Responsi- 
bility. 


CHAPTER    IX 

H  IRew  lEiposition  of  tbe  Mill 

A  Ceaselessly  Energizing  Force 

THE    executive    POWER    OF    THE    SOUL 

THE  HARMONY  OF  VOLUNTARY  ACTIVITIES  AND  THE 
INTUITION  OF  CAUSE  AND   EFFECT 

Preiace 

The  Exposition  presents  i.  The  Reign  of  the  Law  of 
Cause  and  Effect  within  the  Spiritual  Cosmos. 

2.  The  Will  as  simply  the  Executive  Power  of  the 
Soul.  It  urges  Self-Execution  as  superior  to  the  term 
Self-Determination,  which  may  imply  that  which  is 
erroneous. 

3.  The  Relation  of  the  Will  to  the  Material  World  in 
harmony  with  the  law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy. 
It  is  that  of  Authority  and  Obedience.  This  is  at  pres- 
ent almost  entirely  confined  to  the  nerve-force.  The 
Creator  has  so  constructed  it  and  so  endowed  the  Soul, 
that  the  former  obeys  the  latter.  When  men  utilize  this 
nerve-force  and  thereby  their  muscular  force  and  by  it 
the  other  great  forces  of  the  world  further  beyond,  they 
simply  direct.  Their  Will  is  the  rule  by  which  the  phy- 
sical forces  act.  In  all  their  activities  these  act  under 
governing  rules.  How  these  rules  are  imposed  and  how 
they  act  is  an  impenetrable  mystery.  In  like  manner, 
the  physical  nerve-force  acts  under  the  rule  which  gov- 

427 


428      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

-erns  it,  its  rule  being  the  Will  of  the  indwelling  Soul, 
though  how  this  rule  is  imparted  is  as  deep  a  mystery  as 
in  all  other  cases,  but  no  deeper.  The  Soul  wills,  the 
nerve-force  obeys. 

This  authority  seems  to  be  precisely  that  of  which  we 
are  conscious.  We  are  conscious  that  the  rule  under 
which  the  muscular  force  acts  is  simply  the  mandate  of 
the  Soul.  Rightly  considered,  man  within  his  sphere  is 
a  Miracle  Worker;  his  Thought  and  Will  dominate  the 
World.  All  his  manifold  works  are  wrought  by  physical 
forces,  not  by  himself;  he  the  Architect,  they  the  builders. 

All  this  is  in  accord  with  Nature.  If  I  by  Will-Power 
stop  and  hold  in  the  air  a  ball  thrown  to  me,  I  no 
more  violate  Nature  than  if  I  caught  and  held  the  ball 
with  my  hand.  In  both  cases  alike  another  force  has 
acted  upon  the  ball  and  produced  the  effect.  When  the 
Will  is  withdrawn  the  moving-energy  and  gravity  again 
act  and  the  ball  goes  on  its  course.  In  the  other  case, 
when  the  hand  is  withdrawn  gravity  alone  acts  and  the 
ball  falls  straight  to  the  ground;  the  moving-energy  has 
been  transmuted  through  hand  and  body.    (Pages  188,191.) 

4.  It  explains  our  Spontaneity.  This  is  not  an  abso- 
lute Initiatio7t,  but  the  manifestation  of  powers  already 
and  ev er- energizing . 

5.  Gives  ample  room  for  Freedom  and  Responsibility. 
The  activities  of  the  Material  and  the  Spiritual  Realms 
are  both  those  of  ever-energizing  powers  and  in  both 
cases  the  powers  act  and  react  upon  one  another.  Be- 
yond this  there  is  a  vast  gulf  of  separation  between  the 
realms.  The  activities  of  the  former  are  those  of  material 
forces.  Those  of  the  latter  are  the  activities  of  a  Living 
Person  of  a  God-like  Being,  the  activities  of  thought, 
emotion,  volition. 

It  is  from  these  God-like  Powers  that  man's  responsi- 
bility springs. 

The  fact  that  these  are  ceaselessly  energizing  and  act 


MAN  A  REAL  AGENT  429 

and   react  upon  one  another  in  no  degree  impairs  re- 
sponsibility. 

NEW    EXPOSITION 

The  problems  of  the  human  will  are  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  and  difficult  of  any  which  have  ever  been  con- 
sidered. It  may  be  said  that  in  a  large  measure  they 
have  remained  unanswered.  Among  them  is  that  of  the 
relation  of  the  will  to  the  universal  reign  of  the  law  of 
causation.  How  shall  this  be  set  forth  and  explained? 
We  think  that  it  may  be  by  a  new  exposition  of  the  will, 
which  we  here  present. 

That  volition  is  not  contrary  to,  but  acts  strictly 
according  to  the  universal  reign  of  causation  may  be 
made  evident  as  follows : 

Man  is  a  real  independent  agent.  The  human  soul  is 
endowed  with  real  energy.  Just  as  the  material  sub- 
stance has  its  inherent  forces,  so  also  has  the  spiritual 
substance,  or  spirit,  its  inherent  forces,  or  powers.  The 
various  powers  of  the  spirit,  such  as  thought,  emotion, 
desire,  will,  act  and  react  upon  one  another,  and  thus 
guide,  control  and  determine  their  activities,  so  that  at 
one  time  they  may  all  be  in  activity,  and  then  again 
greater  activity  may  be  given  to  some  rather  than  to 
others,  and  at  times  some  may  be  held  in  a  state  of  rest 
through  equilibrium ;  in  all  this  corresponding  to  the 
mutual  activities  of  the  varied  forces  of  the  material 
world,  where  at  times  violent  activities  and  reactions 
occur,  and  at  others,  equilibrium  prevails  through  the 
counterbalancing  of  equal  forces. 

Moreover,  the  man's  environment  is  the  occasion,  the 
prompting,  the  external  cause  of  the  spiritual  activities 
within.  The  spirit's  energizing  is  its  own  self-determi- 
nation, but  responds  to  and  corresponds  with  that  which 
is  without.  The  man's  thinking,  feeling,  desiring  and 
willing  are  his  own  exercise  of  his  own  inherent  energies. 


430      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

but  his  thoughts,  etc.,  are  what  they  are  because  of  that 
upon  and  under  which  they  act,  the  sights,  sounds,  etc., 
and  influences  of  the  world  in  which  he  Hves. 

The  forces  of  the  material  world  are  always  in  full 
energy ;  the  rest  which  extensively  prevails  being  due 
only  to  the  equilibrium  of  the  energizing  of  opposing 
forces.  So  the  powers  of  the  spirit  are  always  in  full 
energy;  the  greater  or  less  manifestation  of  activity 
being  due  to  the  degree  in  which  the  various  powers  are 
held  in  check  by  another,  or  allowed  full  play. 

The  human  spirit  must,  therefore,  be  conceived  of  as 
being  ever  energizing ;  should  this  energizing  cease  the 
spirit  would  cease  to  be,  and,  as  is  the  case  with  all 
material  forces,  should  one  power  of  the  spirit  fail  to 
energize,  it  would  no  longer  be  a  power;  it  would  be 
lost  to  the  spirit.  This  unceasing  energizing  of  the 
powers  of  the  soul  being  under  the  control  and  direction 
of  the  various  faculties  wherewith  the  soul  is  endowed, 
gives  rise  to  all  our  inward,  or  spiritual  experiences,  or 
doings.  The  man  thinks,  and  as  he  thinks,  he  wills  to 
think  with  greater  or  less  concentration  upon  certain 
objects  of  thought,  in  as  much  as  the  powers  of  thought 
are  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the  will ;  and  as 
he  "  wills  "  he  does  so  according  to  his  thoughts,  in  as 
much  as  his  will  is  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the 
powers  of  thought.  And  as  the  man  thus  thinks  and 
wills  his  emotions  are  aroused,  or  depressed  by  his 
thoughts  and  volitions,  as  the  emotional  powers  are 
under  the  control  and  direction  of  those  of  thought 
and  volition;  and  he  thinks  and  wills  according  to  the 
character  of  his  emotions,  because  the  powers  of  thought 
and  will  are  under  the  control  and  direction  of  those  of 
emotion.  And  as  he  thus  thinks,  and  wills  and  feels,  his 
desires  or  aspirations  are  aroused,  or  depressed  accord- 
ing to  the  character  of  his  thoughts,  volitions,  feelings, 
because  these  control  and  direct  them;  and  on  the  other 


WILL  EVER  IN  FULL  ENERGY  431 

hand  the  thoughts,  volitions  and  feelings  are  determined 
by  the  desires  or  aspirations,  in  as  much  as  these  latter 
exercise  their  control  and  direction  over  them. 

Thus  it  appears,  that  the  "will"  is  but  one  of  the 
powers  of  the  individual  man,  and  being  a  real  force,  or 
power,  it  is  always  as  such  in  full  energy,  as  is  true  of 
all  powers  spiritual  and  material,  and  being  ever  in  full 
energy,  that  is,  ever  fully  energizing,  or  exerting  its 
force,  and  being  under  the  control  and  direction  of  the 
other  powers  of  the  soul,  it  is  quiescent  or  active  and 
acts  in  this  direction  or  another  according  as  it  is  re- 
pressed, or  allowed  to  act,  and  is  directed  by  these 
powers. 

In  other  words  the  man,  not  an  entity  apart  from  the 
faculties  of  the  soul,  but  an  agent,  or  the  Ego,  to  be 
thought  of  as  consisting  of  these  combined  faculties, 
having  this  will  energy,  or  power,  uses  it  by  willing  or 
not  willing,  or  forming  resolutions  of  one  kind  or 
another,  according  to  his  own  thoughts,  feelings,  desires, 
etc.  The  man  utilizes  his  will  energy  as  the  engineer 
utilizes  the  steam  power  which  is  at  his  disposal. 

As  thus  far  presented  it  is  evident  that  "volition"  pre- 
sents no  contradiction  to  the  universal  reign  of  causation. 
It  no  more  contradicts  it  than  does  the  engineer's  use  of 
steam  power.  Equally  in  both  cases  there  is  the  pres- 
ence and  the  utilizing  of  a  force.  The  engineer  has  the 
steam  energy,  which  he  uses  as  he  pleases — the  man  has 
the  "will-energy"  which  he  makes  use  of  as  he  pleases. 
In  neither  of  these  cases  is  there  anything  like  a  new 
creation,  an  unaccounted  for  action,  a  coming  of  some- 
thing out  of  nothing,  spontaneous  activity,  as  volitions 
are  often  said  to  be  with  the  insuperable  difficulty 
involved ;  for  in  both  cases  there  is  the  presence  of  a 
pent  up  energizing  force,  ready  for  use ;  the  steam, 
whose  energy  is  held  within  the  steam-chest,  and  the 
will-power,  whose  energy  within  the  soul  is  held  by  the 


432      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

powers  of  the  soul,  ready  to  be  used  by  the  individual 
man. 

Thus  far  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever,  and  if  we  be 
content  to  accept  facts  as  they  are  at  present,  there  is 
nothing  more  needed  to  be  said,  or  desired.  We  may 
rest  satisfied  with  understanding  how  our  volitions  are 
under  the  law  of  causation.  Every  effect  must  have  its 
adequate  cause,  our  volitions  have  their  adequate  cause. 
They  are  produced  by  the  ever  energizing  will  energy  or 
force,  which  is  one  of  the  powers  of  the  soul,  just  as  the 
working  of  the  engine  is  produced  by  the  energizing 
steam  power,  and  they  come  and  go  and  are  of  this  or 
that  character  as  controlled  and  directed  by  the  man, 
just  as  the  working  of  the  engine  is  according  to  the 
control  and  direction  of  the  engineer. 

But  two  difficulties  arise  if  we  look  beyond  present 
facts,  in  the  light  of  what  is  supposed  to  be  true  of  the 
material  world;  the  one  is  the  final  cessation  of  all  ac- 
tivity of  the  soul  through  the  equilibrium  of  all  its  pow- 
ers, and  the  other  the  exhaustion  at  last  of  the  will  force, 
through  work  done  by  it  outside  of  the  soul  in  the 
material  world.  In  regard  to  the  first  of  these  diffi- 
culties, it  is  to  be  remembered  that  the  hypothesis  is 
that,  viewed  with  the  widest  range  of  vision,  the  material 
universe  is,  as  it  were,  a  great  mechanism  in  full  activity, 
but  which  is  steadily  running  down,  and  which  will 
finally  cease  to  move.  According  to  the  law  of  correla- 
tion and  transmutation  of  forces,  no  force  is  ever  lost; 
they  are  ever  acting  and  reacting  upon  one  another,  but 
with  a  constant  trend  towards  a  universal  equilibrium  of 
opposing  forces  and  a  state  of  perfect  rest. 

The  primitive,  indefinitely  attenuated  and  diffused 
nebulous  matter  by  a  process  of  condensation  brought 
the  varied  material  forces  into  activity;  motion,  heat, 
light  were  produced ;  suns  and  planets  and  systems  of 
worlds  were  formed  with  their  revolutions  through  wide- 


TWO  DIFFICULTIES  433 

sweeping  circuits ;  successive  changes  have  taken  and  are 
taking  place  within  suns  and  satellites,  through  cooling 
and  contraction;  stage  after  stage  passes  away;  the 
varied  forms  of  life  appear;  step  by  step  the  worlds  grow 
cold  and  dark  and  dead,  and  at  last  all  forces  come  to  a 
state  of  abiding  counterbalance,  and  universal  darkness, 
cold,  solidity  and  rest  prevail ;  unless  through  crash  of 
worlds  with  worlds,  or  in  some  other  way,  the  solidified 
matter  becomes  the  attenuated  and  diffused  nebulous 
material  once  more. 

As  far  as  known,  it  is  thus  with  the  material  world, 
and  it  may  be  supposed  that  a  corresponding  process  is 
within  the  spiritual  world,  that  is,  within  the  human 
soul.  It  begins  with  its  endowment  of  powers,  as  does 
the  material  universe,  but  with  these  in  abeyance,  or 
inactivity,  as  is  the  case  in  the  realm  of  matter.  These 
powers  gradually  act  and  react  upon  one  another  and 
under  the  law  of  conservation  and  transmutation  of  spirit- 
ual forces  no  power  is  ever  lost;  but  according  to  the 
same  law  there  must  be  as  in  the  natural  world,  a  steady 
advance  towards  and  a  final  reaching  of  a  state  of  abid- 
ing rest  through  the  counterbalancing  of  all  the  powers 
of  the  soul. 

Theoretically  we  must  make  this  supposition,  for  other- 
wise there  would  be  within  the  soul,  perpetual  motion, 
self-perpetuated  or  self-produced  activity,  spontaneous, 
or  uncaused,  unaccounted-for  activities. 

This  difficulty  may  be  met  thus :  There  is  an  all-im- 
portant factor  in  the  spiritual  world  which  makes  its  case 
different  from  that  of  the  material.  In  this  latter  there 
is  no  influence,  no  impulse,  no  addition  of  any  kind 
introduced  from  without.  This  is  an  essential  point  in 
the  hypothesis  regarding  the  material  universe,  and  this 
is  the  reason  why  there  is  a  steady  progress  towards 
final  rest.  It  is  otherwise,  however,  with  the  soul  of 
man ;  it  is  in  continual  communication  with  that  which 
28 


434      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

is  out  of  and  beyond  itself,  and  is  ever  deriving  impulse 
and  influence  therefrom. 

Than  this  there  is  nothing  more  evidently  true.  The 
man  is  born  into  the  world  fully  endowed  with  all  his 
spiritual  faculties,  or  powers.  These,  however,  are  in 
abeyance  and  would  remain  so  were  they  not  influenced 
by  that  which  is  without.  The  faculties  of  the  soul  need 
to  be  drawn  out,  stimulated,  furnished  with  material  upon 
which  to  act;  acquisition,  education  are  necessary.  All 
these  are  furnished  through  vital  union  with  the  bodily 
organization.  There  is  no  need  here  to  attempt  fullness 
of  detail;  it  suf^ces  simply  to  refer,  for  example,  to  the 
inflow  of  knowledge  through  sight  and  hearing  and 
touch;  the  stimulus  afforded  by  the  various  bodily  sen- 
sations, and  yet  more  the  unspeakably  great  influence 
of  man  upon  his  fellow-man  by  language  spoken  and 
written.  There  is,  moreover,  the  fellowship  and  inter- 
communion of  soul  with  soul,  a  real  power  which  we 
exert  upon  one  another,  elevating  or  debasing,  as  the 
case  may  be,  and  assimilating  the  character  of  those  who 
dwell  together.  What  influence  we  at  present  receive 
from  other  created  intelligences,  it  may  be  hard  to  deter- 
mine scientifically,  but  there  are  such  beings  and  Revela- 
tion makes  it  plain  that  they  have  such  communion  with, 
or  power  over  us  that  we  are  largely  guided  and  con- 
trolled by  them.  Still  further,  while  the  scientist  may 
exclude  all  interposition  of  the  Deity  from  the  material 
universe,  this  cannot  be  done  in  regard  to  the  human 
soul.  God  does  dwell  within  man,  there  is  a  real  fellow- 
ship between  God  and  us ;  directly  and  instrumentally  he 
teaches,  directs,  controls  us;  from  him  we  receive  im- 
pulse, inspiration.  All  these  things  are  true  of  men, 
while  yet  within  their  bodily  organization,  and  will  be 
true,  probably  with  great  enlargement,  after  the  resur- 
rection. During  the  disembodied  period  mighty  influ- 
ences, however  modified,  will  doubtless  still  be  brought 


A  WELL  KNOWN  REALITY  435 

to  bear  upon  the  soul.  Because  of  all  this  quickening 
from  without,  the  tendency  towards  final  loss  of  the  ac- 
tivity of  the  soul  is  removed ;  its  energies  are  forever- 
more  continually  stimulated  anew.  In  view  of  the  bound- 
less universe  and  of  the  countless  ages  of  existence,  the 
enlargement  and  exaltation  of  being  and  activity  for  the 
soul  are  beyond  our  powers  of  anticipation  and  con- 
ception. 

To  appreciate  the  force  of  this  reply  to  the  difficulty  in 
question,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  all  that  is 
needed  for  the  perpetual  activity  of  the  soul,  is  to  pre- 
vent its  energies,  which  can  never  cease  to  be,  and  to 
energize,  from  coming  to  rest  by  the  counterbalancing 
of  one  another,  according  to  the  hypothesis  which  is  ac- 
cepted as  true  in  the  material  world. 

This  is  such  a  complete  removal  of  the  difficulty,  that 
it  may  be  regarded  as  perfectly  satisfactory.  Here  it 
may  be  remarked  that  the  progress  of  the  soul  to  a  state 
of  inactivity,  if  deprived  of  influences  from  without,  is  far 
more  than  a  mere  hypothesis ;  it  is  a  dread  and  well- 
known  reality.  A  man  with  a  certain  amount  of  knowl- 
edge and  experience,  may  continue  to  be  mentally  active 
for  a  time,  if  cut  ofif  from  all  that  is  without,  but  not 
perpetually.  Shut  up  in  solitary  confinement  in  a  dark 
cell,  without  a  book,  or  any  article  which  he  may  handle 
and  use,  he  passes  with  rapid  strides  to  lunacy  and  idiocy. 
This  result  is  inevitable,  unless  there  be  communion  with 
God;  with  no  food  for  thought  he  ceases  to  think;  de- 
sires, hopes,  aspirations  die,  all  motives  disappear,  voli- 
tions are  no  longer  made,  there  being  no  occasion,  no 
motive,  no  thought  to  call  them  forth;  all  has  settled 
-down  to  a  dead  level  and  calm,  the  ceaselessly  energizing 
powers  are  still  there,  but  they  counterbalance  and  hold 
one  another  at  rest.  The  oft-repeated  story  is  a  case  in 
point :  a  solitary  prisoner  kept  himself  mentally  alive  by 
three   or   four   pins,   with    which    he   occupied    himself, 


436      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

throwing  them  about  his  dark  cell  and  searching  for 
them,  and  placing  them  in  every  possible  posture.  So 
slight  an  influence  from  without  as  this  served  the  purpose. 

The  second  difficulty  to  be  met  is  the  exhaustion  at 
last  of  the  will  force  through  work  done  by  it  outside  of 
the  soul  in  the  material  world. 

The  well-known  fact  is  that  all  v;ork  is  done  at  the  ex- 
penditure of  force,  which  must  be  continually  re-supplied. 
The  furnace  generates  new  steam  for  the  engine,  the  elec- 
tric storage-battery  must  be  re-charged,  the  watch  must 
be  re-wound,  the  radiation  of  heat  and  light  by  the  sun 
will  result  finally  in  cold  and  darkness,  the  material  uni- 
verse is  running  down  and  will  come  to  stagnation  and 
death.  According  to  this  the  will  force  must  exhaust 
itself  by  the  work  which  it  does  in  the  material  world. 

To  understand  this  it  must  be  noted,  that  the  attribute, 
faculty  or  power  of  will  itself  abides  forever  incapable  of 
exhaustion,  or  impairment,  and  is,  moreover,  ever  exert- 
ing its  full  energy,  this  being  the  case  with  all  powers, 
or  forces.  Of  this  gravity  is  a  readily  perceived  example. 
It  ever  remains  unimpaired  and  by  its  never-ceasing  en- 
ergizing attracts  all  bodies  to  itself  and  gives  them  their 
unvarying  weight.  This  being  true  of  all  powers  or 
forces,  they  are  either  at  rest  through  the  equilibrium  of 
opposing  forces,  or  they  are  imparting  energy  to  objects 
because  the  forces  opposing  them  are  weaker  than  they. 
This  has  been  called  active  force,  living  power,  dynamic 
energy,  or  here  we  might  for  convenience  and  concise- 
ness, call  it  energy,  reserving  the  terms  force  or  power, 
for  that  which  produces  or  imparts  this  energy.  The 
sum  total  of  such  energy  always  remains  the  same,  but 
any  given  energy  so  far  as  it  does  work,  or  which  is  the 
same  thing,  overcomes  resisting  energies  or  forces,  is 
expended  and  exhausted,  not  however  by  being  de- 
stroyed, but  by  transmutation  into  the  resistances  which 
they  overcome,  or  into  other  energies. 


THE  SECOND  DIFFICULTY  437 

All  work,  therefore,  is  at  the  expense  of  "energy,"  and 
the  work  done  is  exactly  equivalent  to  the  amount  of 
energy  expended.  Moreover  not  only  is  the  "  energy  " 
spent,  but  also  the  forces  which  produce  and  impart  it. 
The  meaning  is  that  a  force  loses  its  activity  and  comes 
to  and  remains  at  rest  in  producing  and  imparting 
energy.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  the  imparting  of 
energy  is  limited  by  the  distance  or  time  through  which 
the  force  operates,  the  limit  is  reached  when  some  op- 
posing force  brings  the  force  to  equilibrium.  Gravity, 
for  example,  imparts  energy  to  a  falling  body  till  it 
reaches  the  ground,  when  the  resistance  of  the  ground 
brings  the  force  of  gravity  to  rest.  In  combustion,  the 
separated  atoms  of  carbon  and  oxygen  unite  and  produce 
a  definite  amount  of  heat  energy,  but  no  more,  because 
the  uniting  forces  of  these  atoms  are  in  equilibrium  in 
the  produced  carbonic  acid.  A  plain  illustration  of  how 
both  the  forces  imparting  energy  and  the  "energy"  are 
expended  in  work  performed  is  found  in  the  ignition  of 
gun-powder.  When  ignited,  a  definite  amount  of  ex- 
plosive energy  is  produced,  but  no  more,  because  the 
forces  producing  it  have  come  to  the  rest  of  equilibrium 
in  the  products  of  combustion,  their  production  of 
energy  is  expended.  The  produced  explosive  energy  is 
imparted  to  the  rifie-ball,  which  if  directed  vertically 
ascends  a  definite  distance,  that  is,  till  the  work  of  lifting 
it  up  in  opposition  to  the  force  of  gravity  is  equivalent 
to  the  explosive  energy  of  the  powder  imparted  to  it. 
For  an  instant  the  ball  is  at  rest,  the  energy  has  gone 
from  it,  it  has  been  transmuted  into  the  work  done,  the 
lifting  of  the  ball,  or  that  of  overcoming  the  force  of 
gravity.  The  ball  is  at  rest  when  the  energy  imparted  to 
it  is  equalized  by  the  force  of  gravity.  The  ball  imme- 
diately descends  again,  gravity  reimparting  to  it  the 
amount  of  energy  it  has  lost,  but  no  more ;  for  as  it 
strikes  the  ground  at  its  original  starting  place,  the  force 


438      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

of  gravity  is  brought  to  rest  by  the  resisting  force  of  the 
ground.  In  all  this  we  see  the  persistence  of  force  and 
energy  and  how  both  of  these  become  expended  in  the 
doing  of  work  and  need  renewal  for  further  work. 

Another  beautiful  and  interesting  illustration  is  found 
in  the  pendulum.  When  it  hangs  vertically  the  energiz- 
ing force  of  gravity  is  exerted  upon  it,  but  this  force  im- 
parts no  energy  to  it,  because  the  force  which  supports 
the  pendulum  and  gravity  are  at  the  rest  of  equilibrium. 
They  remain  thus  till  some  third  force  overcomes  that  of 
gravity  and  pulls  the  pendulum  to  one  side,  thus  lifting 
it  up  a  certain  distance.  This  third  force  has  expended 
itself  in  the  work  done  in  lifting  and  holding  up  the  pen- 
dulum, or  in  overcoming  the  force  of  gravity.  Upon 
being  released  from  the  third  force,  the  pendulum  de- 
scends to  the  lowest  point  of  its  swing  with  the  energy 
imparted  to  it  by  gravity  operating  through  that  dis- 
tance. Gravity  can  pull  the  pendulum  down  no  lower 
and  can  impart  no  more  energy  because  its  force  is 
brought  to  rest  by  the  opposing  force  which  supports 
the  pendulum.  The  imparted  energy  remains  in  the 
pendulum  and  carries  it  up  in  its  swing  in  opposition  to 
gravity,  till  the  energy  is  expended  in  the  work  of  lifting 
the  pendulum,  or  overcoming  the  force  of  gravity. 
When  the  energy  and  gravity  are  equalized  the  pendu- 
lum is  at  rest,  but  it  immediately  descends  again,  gravity 
reimparting  to  it  the  amount  of  energy  it  had  expended, 
but  ceasing  to  give  further  energy,  because  when  the 
pendulum  reaches  its  lowest  point  gravity  is  at  the  rest 
of  equilibrium.  The  reimparted  energy  carries  the  pen- 
dulum up,  and  the  process  goes  on.  All  this  is  upon  the 
supposition  that  there  is  no  loss  of  energy  by  resistance 
of  the  air,  nor  from  friction. 

In  this  illustration  we  thus  have  a  beautiful  and  plain 
exhibition  of  work  done  by  the  expenditure  of  both  force 
and  imparted  energy.     The  power  which  pulls  the  pen- 


TRANSMUTATION  OF  FORCES  439 

dulum  aside  and  lifts  it  up,  gravity  and  the  momentum 
of  the  pendulum,  these  three  are  all  spent,  but  not  de- 
stroyed. The  activity  of  gravity  comes  and  goes  with 
the  work  done  in  the  swinging  of  the  pendulum,  but  its 
inherent  power  remains  ever  the  same ;  the  imparted 
energy  also  comes  and  goes,  but  this  is  by  its  transmu- 
tation into  its  equivalent  of  work,  or  of  opposing  force 
that  of  gravity  and  its  recovery  again  therefrom. 

All  this  acting  and  reacting  of  forces  and  energies  and 
doing  of  work  is  possible  because  these  forces  and  en- 
ergies are  so  related  to  one  another  that  they  admit  of 
transmutation  into  one  another,  it  may  be  that  they  are 
only  different  modes  of  material  motion ;  and  because 
they  are  in  unstable  equilibrium,  that  is,  there  is  not  as 
yet  a  state  of  universal  rest  through  the  equilibrium  of 
all  forces. 

As  thus  presented  the  points  to  be  noted  are :  the 
original  ever-energizing  forces  are  imperishable  and  ad- 
mit of  no  impairment,  their  activity  by  which  they  impart 
energy  is  limited  by  the  distance  or  time  through  which 
these  forces  operate,  or  the  relation  of  things  to  one 
another ;  the  imparted  energies  are  transmuted  into 
forces  and  other  energies,  and  all  work  is  done  at  the 
expenditure  of  these  energies  and  of  the  activity  of  the 
forces  which  produce  them,  these  forces  resupply  the 
expended  energies  at  the  expense  of  their  activity. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  when  it  is  said,  that  the 
will  is  exhausted  by  the  work  which  it  does  in  the  mate- 
rial world,  the  meaning  must  be  that  it  imparts  physical 
energy  which  is  expended  by  the  work  performed  and 
that  as  this  is  imparted  at  the  expense  of  the  activity  of 
the  will  which  imparts  it,  this  activity  of  the  will  and  the 
physical  energy  due  to  it  must  at  length  be  exhausted. 

The  activity  of  the  will  force  in  producing  physical 
energy  is  possible  only  as  it  is  resisted  by  forces  weaker 
than  itself,  and  as  it  is  not  omnipotent,  but  weak,  it  must 


440      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

soon  be  brought  to  abiding  rest  through  general  equili- 
brium with  other  forces.  In  other  words  the  will  in 
doing  physical  work  has  an  actual  and  a  potential,  that 
is  a  possible,  activity,  both  of  which  are  of  necessity 
limited.  This  is  true  of  all  forces  in  doing  work.  Their 
possible  activity  depends  upon  the  relations  of  all  objects 
and  forces  to  one  another.  The  potential  activity  of 
gravity  in  the  case  of  a  clock  with  weights  is  the  degree 
to  which  the  clock  has  been  wound ;  when  it  has  run 
down  the  activity  ceases.  The  potential  activity  in  a 
clock  moved  by  a  spring  is  the  number  of  times  the 
spring  has  been  coiled  up;  when  it  has  unwound  itself 
the  activity  is  at  an  end.  In  gunpowder  explosion,  the 
possible  activity  depends  upon  the  amount  of  powder, 
the  kind,  quality  and  proportions  of  its  ingredients  and 
of  the  forces  involved;  when  the  activity  due  to  these 
relations  has  taken  place,  the  activity  ceases.  The  pos- 
sible activity  of  a  steam  engine  is  that  which  is  due  to 
the  amount  of  fuel  which  is  burning,  the  steam  pressure 
and  the  relation  of  these  to  all  the  parts  of  the  engine; 
when  this  activity  has  been  expended  the  engine  ceases 
to  move.  The  possible  activity  of  our  earth,  its  ocean 
currents,  winds,  flowing  waters,  moving  objects,  its 
electricity,  its  burning  heat,  the  growth  and  activities  of 
plant  and  animal  life,  is  due  to  the  present  relations  of 
all  things  and  forces ;  when  this  activity  is  expended,  all 
would  be  at  rest,  were  it  not  for  new  energy  derived 
from  the  sun.  This  is  the  invariable  law,  from  it  there 
is  no  exception — all  forces  in  doing  work,  have  a  poten- 
tial, or  possible  activity  dependent  upon  and  limited  by 
the  relations  of  the  objects  and  forces  to  one  another. 

If,  therefore,  the  will  be  a  force  doing  work  in  the 
material  world,  it  has  only  a  limited  possible  activity;  an 
activity  dependent  upon  and  limited  by  the  relation  of 
the  will  and  material  objects  and  forces.  When  this  has 
been  expended  this  activity  of  the  will  is  exhausted. 


THE  WILL-FORCE  441 

With  the  distinct  understanding,  as  thus  presented,  of 
what  is  meant  by  the  exhaustion  of  the  will  through 
work  done  by  it  in  the  material  world,  it  may  be  said  in 
regard  to  the  difficulty  arising  therefrom  as  follows :  In 
the  first  place,  all  that  has  been  mentioned  in  regard  to 
forces,  energies  and  work  depends  upon  the  correlation 
of  forces  and  their  transmutation  into  one  another;  this 
is  the  central,  or  essential  thought  of  the  law  we  have 
presented.  Force  is  never  destroyed  and  lost,  it  is  used 
and  exhausted  by  being  transmuted  into  other  forces. 
The  steam  power  is  changed  into  the  work  of  the  engine, 
that  into  the  motion  of  the  dynamo,  that  into  light  and 
heat  and  all  kinds  of  working  of  electric  machinery,  and 
these  into  others  on  and  on  indefinitely  in  wide  diffusion 
till  the  rest  of  equilibrium  be  reached.  The  will  force, 
therefore,  in  performing  outside  work  cannot  be  de- 
stroyed, it  must  be  transmuted  into  the  work  accom- 
plished; if  the  law,  of  which  we  are  speaking,  holds  good 
in  regard  to  it  in  its  relation  to  that  which  is  material. 
This,  however,  appears  to  be  impossible.  The  material 
forces  are  correlated  and  may  be  transmuted  into  one 
another,  but  we  have  no  proof  that  there  is  any  such 
correlation  between  these  and  spiritual  forces.  From  all 
that  we  know  of  the  nature  of  these  two  sets  of  energies, 
it  is  impossible  that  the  one  can  be  transmuted  into  the 
other.  Spirit  is  that  which  matter  is  not,  as  is  expressed 
by  the  terms  immaterial  and  material.  The  energies, 
therefore,  inhering  in  the  one  cannot  become  the  ener- 
gies of  the  other.  Hence  will-power  cannot  be  trans- 
muted into  mechanical  force.  It  cannot  in  this  way  ex- 
haust itself  through  the  work  which  it  does  in  the  world. 

In  the  next  place  the  outside  work  which  the  man 
does  is  indirectly  and  not  directly  by  will-power.  It  is 
by  muscular  energy  that  he  operates,  and  it  is  this  which 
is  transmuted  into  mechanical  motion  and  which  becomes 
exhausted  and  is  in  need  of  recuperation,  which  it  re- 


442       IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

ceives  from  bodily  nourishment.  The  will  no  more  per- 
forms the  work  than  the  engineer  does  the  work  of  the 
engine.  In  the  one  case  the  work  is  done  by  muscular 
force,  in  the  other  by  steam  power.  As  thus  considered 
it  still  further  appears  that  there  is  no  exhaustion  of  the 
will  energy  by  the  work  performed ;  it  is  the  muscular 
power  which  is  expended;  just  as  there  is  no  exhaustion 
of  the  engineer  by  the  work  done  by  the  engine,  nor  of 
the  little  child  who  presses  the  electric  button  and  by  a 
mighty  earthquake  rends  the  solid  rock  in  the  bed  of  the 
East  River. 

In  the  third  place,  the  act  of  the  will  in  the  case  in 
hand,  is  one  of  direction,  control,  mandate.  The  will 
determines,  but  does  not  do  the  work.  The  engineer 
directs  and  controls  the  work  which  the  engine  per- 
forms ;  the  little  child  directs  and  controls  the  explosion 
of  the  mines  in  the  rock.  With  a  number  of  buttons  at 
her  disposal,  she  may  cause  a  greater  or  less  explosion, 
or  in  one  place  or  another,  as  well  as  determine  the 
moment  at  pleasure.  With  another  person  to  operate 
the  key-board  she  may  do  all  this  by  a  gesture,  a  look,  a 
word.  The  captain  of  an  ocean  steamer  by  sign,  look  or 
word  controls  the  complicated  machinery  of  the  vessel, 
determines  her  movements  and  her  course,  and  brings  a 
floating  palace  with  its  hundreds  of  living  persons 
through  raging  seas,  at  the  speed  of  ten  or  twenty  miles 
per  hour,  safe  to  port.  In  all  these  cases  there  is  no 
expenditure  of  force  on  the  part  of  the  director  for  the 
performance  of  work;  there  is  only  direction,  control, 
mandate.     The  same  thing  is  true  in  regard  to  the  will. 

Such  being  the  character  of  the  act  of  the  will,  we 
have  in  it  the  revelation  of  the  nature  of  the  relation  be- 
tween the  spiritual  and  the  material  forces ;  it  is  one  of 
mandate  and  obedience.  There  is  the  impassable  gulf  of 
separation  between  the  two;  the  one  cannot  be  trans- 
muted into  the  other,  but  such  is  their  relation  to  one 


MANDATE  AND  OBEDIENCE  443; 

another,  that  the  spiritual  is  the  superior  and  has  power 
over  the  material;  the  spiritual  commands,  the  material 
obeys.  This  is  indubitably  so  in  regard  to  the  Supreme 
Spirit.  He  holds  all  forces  in  his  control.  He  speaks 
and  they  obey.  He  wills  and  it  is  done.  In  creating 
the  finite  human  spirit  he  has  endowed  it  with  the  same 
kind  of  power  in  a  very  slight  degree.  At  present  it  is. 
almost,  if  not  altogether  confined  to  power  over  the 
nervous  force  inherent  within  the  network  of  the  nervous 
organization.  But  there,  it  is  a  reality  of  which  we  all 
are  fully  conscious,  and  which  we  constantly  use.  We 
will,  and  as  we  will,  the  nerve  force  responds  and  in 
turn  directs  the  muscular  energy  which  performs  the 
desired  work.  The  reason  why  our  will-power  is  at 
present  confined  to  the  nerve  force,  is  because  it  is 
weak,  and  suffices  only  to  exert  control  over  the  matter 
and  force  which  have  been,  as  it  were,  prepared  and  re- 
fined, made  delicate  and  sensitive  for  this  very  purpose. 
It  may  not  be  objected  to  all  this  that  it  is  mysterious, 
inexplicable,  inconceivable,  for  it  is  not  more  so  than  are 
other  mysteries  with  which  we  are  surrounded.  The  sun, 
millions  of  miles  distant,  holds  the  earth  in  its  orbit.  Who 
understands  this?  Who  can  form  any  conception  of  such 
a  power?  We  can  only  say  that  it  is  and  that  it  does 
exert  its  energy.  With  no  more  difficulty  we  can  know 
and  say  that  the  will  has  power  over  the  material  force 
within  the  nervous  system,  so  that  its  mandates  are 
obeyed.  This  is  a  fact  with  which  we  are  familiar,  and 
well  attested  instances  show  that  such  is  the  real  power 
of  the  will  over  material  force,  that  at  times  it  may  pass 
beyond  the  nerve  force  in  exercising  its  control.  In 
moments  of  extreme  excitement  and  exaltation  of  spirit 
men  have  been  known  to  put  forth  extraordinary 
strength  and  accomplish  that  which  at  other  times  is  far 
beyond  the  possibility  of  their  muscular  power.  It  was 
done  by  the  control  of  will  over  matter.     Such  being  the 


444      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

relation  of  the  will  to  that  which  is  without,  it  is  cer- 
tainly legitimate  to  conceive,  that  when  it  exercises  its 
control  and  indirectly  performs  external  work,  it  does 
not  expend  its  energy  beyond  the  limits  of  the  soul  in 
which  it  inheres.  It  acts  and  commands  and  it  is  the 
part  of  the  material  force  to  obey.  There  is  no  ex- 
haustion and  no  need  of  re-supply.  This  may  be  made 
more  apparent  if  the  word  "authority"  be  used.  The 
will  has  authority  over  the  material  and  the  material 
obeys.  With  prompt  obedience  to  its  authority  the  will 
expends  no  energy  beyond  the  limits  of  the  soul;  it,  as 
it  were,  simply  speaks  and  it  is  done. 

In  the  fourth  place  if  it  still  be  insisted,  though  it 
would  seem  unreasonably,  that  there  must  be  some  out- 
side expenditure  and  exhaustion  of  the  will  force  in  the 
work  which  it  does  in  the  world,  even  if  it  be  indirectly, 
and  even  if  it  be  only  the  exercise  of  authority,  it  may  be 
replied,  that  the  soul  is  constantly  receiving  influences 
irom  without.  This  has  already  been  mentioned  in 
speaking  of  the  first  difficulty.  From  both  the  spiritual 
and  material  worlds  knowledge,  promptings,  influences, 
inspiration  are  evermore  being  poured  into  and  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  soul.  This  maintains  it  in  ceaseless 
activity,  develops  and  expands  its  powers;  the  infant  be- 
comes the  intelligent  child,  the  educated,  trained  youth, 
the  matured  man  of  intellectual  force,  of  commanding 
power,  and  in  the  life  of  the  world  beyond,  a  being  more 
and  more  godlike.  The  will  power  of  such  a  being  will 
doubtless  be  vastly  greater  than  that  which  we  now  have. 
It  will  be  what  we,  at  present,  would  regard  as  miracu- 
lous. Such  an  one,  it  may  be,  will  hold  material  objects 
and  forces  at  disposal ;  as  he  commands  they  will  come 
and  go,  and  do  this  and  that.  Rightly  considered  our 
will-power  as  exerted  in  the  world  is,  in  a  small  way, 
miraculous.  Man  has  often  denied  the  possibility  of 
miracles  on  the  part  of  the  Deity;  no  interposition  from 


MIRACLE  WORKER  445 

him  can  be  allowed,  yet  he  is  all  the  time  doing  miracles 
himself.  Man  is  a  new  force  introduced  into  the  world, 
a  great  disturbing  factor  in  the  realm  of  Nature.  He 
has  been  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  most  potent  geologic 
agents.  By  his  voluntary  activity  and  labor  he  interferes 
with  and  changes  the  course  of  Nature;  great  results 
flow  from  his  activity  which  would  not  otherwise  have 
taken  place.  His  every  act  is  a  miracle  in  this  sense  that 
it  is  the  play  of  material  forces  and  the  movement  of 
material  objects  according  as  he  wills.  He  wills  and  his 
body  moves  from  place  to  place,  or  remains  at  rest ;  he 
wills  and  stones  fly  through  the  air,  or  showers  of  shot 
and  shells ;  he  wills  and  the  strata  of  the  earth  yield  up 
their  buried  treasures  of  coal  and  iron  and  precious 
metals;  he  wills  and  an  iron  network  of  rails  spreads 
itself  over  the  continents  and  ponderous  masses  of 
material  speed  over  them  by  day  and  night  with  irresist- 
ible force  and  velocity;  he  wills  and  hidden  electricity 
comes  from  its  seclusion  and  reveals  itself  with  brilliant 
display,  turning  night  into  day;  he  wills  and  rivers 
change  their  courses,  the  currents  of  the  ocean  are  modi- 
fied and  through  appointed  channels  seas,  separated  by 
Nature,  flow  into  one  another.  All  this,  and  vastly 
more,  is  due  to  the  thought  and  will  of  man,  even  as  he 
now  is;  vastly  greater  doubtless  will  his  will-power  be 
hereafter. 

What  we  have  stated  is  not  a  supposition ;  this  marvel- 
lous development  of  man's  spiritual  powers  from  the 
weakness  of  infancy  under  the  stimulus  of  influences 
from  without  is  a  known  fact;  nothing  can  be  more 
assured.  Instead  of  exhausting  itself  through  work 
done  in  the  world,  the  energy  of  the  human  soul,  due 
to  influences  from  without,  exerts  greater  power.  Any 
loss  of  energy,  were  such  loss  possible,  may  be  and  is 
as  a  fact  even  more  than  regained. 

Here,  however,  the  criticism    may  be  made  that  this 


446      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

great  progress  in  the  energy  of  the  soul  under  in- 
fluences from  without,  may  not  be  any  real  gain,  or 
increment,  but  only  the  drawing  forth  and  development 
of  latent,  potential  energy,  which  the  soul  originally  has. 
If  this  be  the  case,  no  matter  how  highly  exalted  the 
soul's  power  may  become,  a  climax  must  be  reached  and 
a  decline  take  place,  if  there  be  expenditure  of  force 
through  work  done  in  the  world,  and  final  exhaustion 
must  ensue.  In  reply  it  may  be  said,  that  the  known 
fact  is  that  the  soul's  energy  is  enlarged,  as  life 
advances,  and  inasmuch  as  this  is  largely  due  to  in- 
fluences from  without,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  if  there 
can  be,  which  we  do  not  admit,  any  expenditure  and 
loss  of  will-force  upon  the  external  world,  its  recovery 
therefrom  is  possible  also.  This  possibility  is,  more- 
over, required  by  the  law  of  the  transmutation  of  forces ; 
a  force  which  imparts  energy,  may  recover  that  energy ; 
it  is  required  also  by  the  law  of  resistance  and  reac- 
tion of  forces.  When  a  force  imparts  energy  there  is 
always  resistance  and  reaction.  If  I  hold  up  a  pound 
weight,  I  impart  that  amount  of  energy  to  it  and  the 
weight  imparts  that  amount  to  me;  but  there  is  no 
motion  because  the  two  energies  are  equalized.  To  lift 
the  weight  higher  I  must  impart  greater  energy. 
Hence,  if  the  will  can  impart  energy  it  can  and  must 
recover  energy;  the  very  act  of  imparting  includes 
recovery. 

In  the  fifth  place  a  still  further  reply  may  be  given. 
The  nature  and  the  powers  of  spirit  are  different  from 
and  contrary  to  those  of  matter.  When  one  particle  of 
matter  gives  to  another  particle  it  is  a  loss  to  itself. 
When  it  takes  from  another  particle  its  gain  is  at  the 
depreciation  of  the  other.  This  is  not  true  of  the  spirit. 
It  both  gives  and  receives  without  any  loss  to  itself, 
or  to  that  from  which  it  takes.  This  is  evidently  so 
in  regard  to  its  communion  with  other  spiritual  beings. 


WILL,  OBEDIENCE  447 

The  unspeakable  gain  which  we  receive  from  others, 
benefits  them  as  much  as  it  does  us,  they  suffer  no 
impairment  or  loss ;  and  the  influences  which  we  exert 
upon  them  is  with  no  deprivation  to  ourselves.  So  also 
all  the  knowledge,  impressions,  excitements,  prompt- 
ings, stimulus  which  we  receive  from  the  material  world 
leave  it  altogether  unimpaired  and  unimpoverished ;  and 
on  the  other  hand  all  the  spiritual  power  which  we 
exert  over  the  material  is  without  loss  of  energy  on  our 
part,  or  gain  to  it.  We  take  from  the  material  world 
without  depriving  it  of  that  which  we  take,  and  we 
exert  our  energy,  influence,  direction,  control,  authority 
over  it  without  loss  to  us  or  gain  to  it.  This  is  the 
palpable  fact.  If  we  expended  energy  upon  the  material 
it  would  necessarily  gain  that  much  of  force;  but 
throughout  the  many  thousands  of  years  of  the  period 
of  man  in  the  history  of  the  earth,  the  unnumbered 
millions  of  men  have  been  directing  and  controlling 
nature  in  the  way  which  we  have  recounted  above,  and 
yet  not  the  minutest  particle  of  matter,  nor  an  infinites- 
imal degree  of  force  has  ever  been  added  to  the 
material  world ;  this  is  the  positive  affirmation  of 
science.  The  fact  that  the  world  has  gained  nothing 
is  proof  that  the  will  energy  has  lost  nothing.  It  is 
simply  thus — man  has  willed  and  his  will  has  been 
obeyed. 

Thus  with  the  removal  of  these  two  difficulties  the 
way  is  clear  for  accepting  the  view  of  the  human  will 
as  an  ever-energizing  force  which  we  have  presented. 
In  its  structure  and  activities  the  soul  is  regarded  as 
corresponding  with  the  structure  and  activities  of  the 
material  world.  The  forces  within  both  are  ceaselessly 
energizing  and  ever  as  a  unit  acting  and  reacting  upon 
one  another;  the  action  of  any  one  force  being  in- 
variably due  to  its  action  upon  all  the  others  and 
.theirs   upon    one   another    and   upon    it,    independence 


448      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

being  utterly  unknown  and  impossible,  as  is  also  rest 
except  that  due  to  the  equilibrium  of  ever-energizing 
forces. 

The  will  being  one  of  such  forces  of  the  soul,  it  is 
evident  that  its  independence  of  the  other  powers  is 
unknown  and  impossible ;  it  acts  and  reacts  only 
together  with  them,  its  every  act  is  that  of  the  unit 
of  these  combined  forces  and  its  rest  only  that  of  the 
equilibrium  which  may  at  times  take  place  in  their 
interaction.  A  causeless  act  of  the  will,  one  independent 
of  the  thoughts,  emotions,  etc.,  the  whole  make-up  of 
the  soul  is  as  impossible  as  is  a  causeless  act  of  a  force, 
one  irrespective  of  the  other  forces,  in  the  material 
world.  As  the  phenomena  of  the  world  result  from  its 
combined  material  forces  and  activities,  so  the  pheno- 
mena of  the  soul  result  from  its  combined  spiritual 
forces  and  activities. 

The  will  may  be  illustrated  by  the  wound-up  spring 
of  a  watch.  It  is  an  energizing  force,  held  from  un- 
winding itself  in  a  moment  by  the  other  forces  of  the 
watch ;  it  is  at  rest  when  the  watch  is  not  going,  by 
equilibrium  with  the  other  forces ;  when  active  it  acts 
only  with  and  as  controlled  by  these  forces  throughout 
the  entire  mechanism ;  and  the  combined  result  is  the 
movement  of  the  hands  over  the  face,  which  movements 
represent  the  formed  volitions.  As  the  spring  cannot 
move  the  hands  at  random,  irrespective  of  the  forces 
and  activities  of  the  watch,  so  the  will  cannot  form 
volitions  at  random,  irrespective  of  the  forces  and 
activities  of  the  soul.  And  both  the  watch  and  the 
soul  need  and  receive  external  influence  by  which  their 
activity  is  maintained. 

The  exposition  which  we  have  presented  will  be  seen 
more  evidently  true  when  contrasted  with  that  which 
is  given  by  others. 

In  answer  to  the  assertion  that  the  power  of  the  will 


WRONG  VIEWS  449 

and  the  universal  law  of  causation  are  contradictory,  it 
has  been  said  that  they  may  be  contraries,  but  they 
need  not  be  contradictories.  This  seems  to  be  the 
confusion  of  knowledge  by  words.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  form  any  idea  of  the  difference  between  contraries 
and  contradictories.  They  are  indeed  precisely  one  and 
the  same.  A  thing  which  is  contrary  to  another  is 
its  contradictory.  It  is  because  it  is  contrary  that  it 
contradicts  it.  That  which  contradicts  another  thing 
shows  itself  to  be  its  contrary.  There  are  five  ways 
in  which  the  expression  may  be  taken.  In  the  first 
place  it  may  be  regarded  as  making  a  false  statement, 
as  just  pointed  out ;  things  cannot  be  contrary  without 
being  contradictory ;  and,  moreover,  the  power  of  the 
will  and  the  universal  law  of  causation  are  not  con- 
traries, the  former  strictly  obeys  the  latter.  In  the 
second  place,  it  may  be  regarded  as  meaning  that 
things  may  seem  to  be  contradictories  without  being 
such  in  reality ;  fuller  knowledge  of  them  on  our  part 
would  show  that  they  are  not.  But  if  this  be  the 
meaning  it  should  be  plainly  stated  and  not  hidden 
by  the  words  employed.  In  the  third  place,  the  mean- 
ing may  be  that  the  things  are  very  different  from 
one  another,  but,  though  extreme,  the  difference  falls 
short  of  contradiction.  If  so,  the  expression  is  as 
objectionable  as  in  the  other  cases.  In  the  proportion 
as  things  differ  they  are  contradictories.  If  the  differ- 
ence be  trivial,  the  contradiction  is  slight;  if  it  be  great, 
the  contradiction  will  be  complete.  Two  colors  may 
be  hardly  distinguishable  from  one  another,  but  one 
differs  from  the  other  in  having  a  slight  shade  or 
tone  of  coloring  which  the  other  has  not ;  to  this 
extent  they  are  contradictories.  Light  differs  from 
darkness  in  having  a  brightness  which  darkness  has 
not  at  all,  and  hence  these  are  thorough-going  con- 
tradictions. Extreme  difference  falling  short  of  contra- 
29 


450       IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

diction  between  things  cannot,  therefore,  be  expressed 
by  saying  that  they  are  contraries,  but  not  contra- 
dictories; the  greater  the  difference  the  more  con- 
tradictory they  are,  and,  however  slight  the  difference 
they  still  contradict  one  another  to  that  degree. 

It  may  not  be  objected  that,  if  this  be  so,  in  having  dif- 
ferent qualities,  objects  will  have  those  which  are  contra- 
dictory ;  for  the  difference  and  contradiction  are  simply 
between  the  qualities  as  qualities  and  have  no  reference 
to  the  object  to  which  they  belong.  One  quality  differs 
from  and  contradicts  the  other  qualities,  but  only  so  far 
as  it  is  itself  concerned.  The  one  quality  is  not  and 
cannot  be  another  quality;  it  excludes  from  itself  all  but 
its  own  character,  but  such  contradiction  does  not  refer 
to  these  qualities  as  attributes.  We  may  attribute  to  a 
body  any  number  of  these  different  qualities  which  con- 
tradict and  exclude  each  one  the  others  from  itself,  pro- 
vided we  do  not  attribute  and  deny  the  same  quality  to 
the  object ;  that  is,  provided  these  contradictory  qualities 
which  exclude  each  one  the  others  from  itself,  do  not 
have  such  additional  contradiction  of  one  another  as  to 
prevent  them  from  being  attributes  of  the  same  body, 
this  additional  contradiction  being  that  they  are  different, 
that  is,  contradictory  kinds  of  the  same  quality.  An 
object  may  have  different  qualities,  but  not  different 
kinds  of  the  same  quality.  The  common  expression  dif- 
ferent but  not  contradictory  may  be  used  for  con- 
venience, if  properly  understood  as  meaning  contradic- 
tory in  one  respect  but  not  in  another;  thus  qualities 
may  be  contradictory  as  regards  one  another,  but  not  as 
attributes  of  an  object,  or  not  as  being  different  kinds  of 
the  same  quality. 

Thus  a  marble  may  be  round,  white,  hard,  cold.  These 
are  different  because  they  contradict  one  another,  each 
excludes  the  others  from  itself,  but  they  do  not  contra- 
dict one  another  as  attributes  of  the  marble.     But  this 


WRONG  VIEWS  45r 

marble  cannot  also  be  square,  red,  soft  and  hot,  because 
these  qualities  not  only  contradict  the  others  as  qualities, 
but  also  as  attributes  of  the  marble,  because  they  are 
different,  that  is  contradictory,  kinds  of  the  same  quali- 
ties, namely,  shape,  color,  density  and  temperature ;  a 
body  cannot  have  more  than  one  kind  of  each  of  these 
at  the  same  time. 

All  the  above  is  of  value,  as  it  proves  that  freedom  and 
causation  cannot  be  affirmed  of  the  w^ill,  for  they  are  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  the  same  thing,  namely  "mode  of  acting," 
they  exclude  one  another  as  attributes;  if  the  very  nature 
of  voluntary  action  be  one  of  these,  it  cannot  be  the 
other.  This  necessitates  the  rejection  of  a  fourth  way  in 
which  the  expression  may  be  taken,  as  meaning  contrary 
to  one  another,  but  not  as  attributes  of  the  will ;  they 
are  contradictory  in  both  respects. 

In  the  fifth  place,  and  this  seems  to  be  its  real  charac- 
ter, the  statement  may  be  regarded  as  an  attempt  to  ex- 
press an  indefinite,  unattained,  unknown  thought;  some- 
thing which  the  mind  is  grasping  after,  but  fails  to  reach. 

It  would  seem  that  these  are  the  only  ways  in  which 
the  statement  may  be  taken,  and  if  taken  in  any  of  these 
it  must  be  rejected,  and  in  its  objectionable  character  it 
stands  in  bold  contrast  with  the  plain,  simple  and  true 
statement  that  the  power  of  the  will  is  a  real  force,  which 
like  all  other  forces  obeys  the  law  of  causation. 

Again  it  is  said  that  the  power  of  the  will,  and  the 
universal  reign  of  causation  are  ultimate  facts,  and  must 
be  accepted  as  true,  even  though  we  cannot  trace  the 
connection  between  them.  The  principle  here  involved 
is  perfectly  correct,  but  it  is  not  the  case  that  it  must  be 
here  applied.  It  is  right  for  those  to  resort  to  it,  who 
do  not  perceive  the  connection  between  the  power  of  the 
will  and  the  law  of  causation.  However  inexplicable  it 
may  be  to  them,  they  are  assured  of  their  own  free 
agency  and  causation.     They  cannot  deny  what   are  to 


452      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

them  ultimate  facts.  But  there  is  no  need  to  resort  to 
this  principle  in  the  present  instance ;  for  it  is  possible  to 
explain,  as  has  been  done,  how  the  will  acts  in  accord 
with  the  law  of  causation.  Thus,  the  will  is  a  ceaselessly 
energizing  force  within  the  soul,  held,  controlled  and 
directed  by  the  other  powers,  ready  for  any  action  and 
utilized  by  the  man  according  to  his  own  thoughts, 
emotions,  etc.,  and  environment;  just  as  steam  is  an 
ever-energizing  force  held  within  the  boiler,  capable  of 
and  ready  for  any  work,  and  controlled  and  directed  by 
the  engineer  and  utilized  by  him  according  to  his 
thoughts,  etc.  The  law  of  causation  operates  exactly  in 
the  same  way  in  both  cases.  Here  we  must  carefully 
discriminate.  The  will  is  free  in  so  far  as  it  is  an  ener- 
gizing power  capable  of  and  ready  for  any  volition ;  be- 
yond this  it  is  under  the  law  of  causation ;  and  the  man 
is  a  free  agent  because  he  has  this  voluntary  power, 
and  uses  it  according  to  his  own  thoughts  etc.,  and 
because  in  his  thoughts,  emotions,  etc.,  in  all  that 
constitutes  his  character,  himself,  he  is  what  he  is 
because  of  original  endowment,  education,  training,  en- 
vironment, and  the  way  in  which  he  has  himself  made 
use  of  all  these  throughout  successive  years.  There  is 
such  a  thing  as  the  building  and  establishment  of 
character,  and  that  which  has  taken  years  of  labor, 
effort  and  experience  to  form,  cannot  be  ignored,  nor 
destroyed,  nor  radically  changed  in  a  moment. 

Here  everything  is  plain  and  self- evidently  true. 
Here  there  is  a  sufficient  and  efficient  cause  for  every- 
thing ;  a  cause  for  what  the  man  is,  at  any  given 
moment,  in  himself,  his  character,  his  thoughts,  emo- 
tions, etc.;  these  are  the  cause  of  the  direction  and 
control  given  under  which  the  volitions  come  and  go, 
and  have  their  peculiar  character ;  and  the  cause  of  the 
uprising  and  passing  away  of  the  volitions  beneath  this 
control  and  direction  is  the  will,  a  ceaselessly  energizing 


CAUSE  FOR  EVERYTHING  453 

force  within  and  at  the  disposal  of  the  soul,  as  the  ever- 
pressing  steam  power  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  engineer; 
and  in  the  midst  of  all  this  causation,  operating  exactly 
in  the  same  way  in  which  it  does  in  the  material  world, 
the  man  is  free  in  such  a  sense  and  degree  that  he  is 
responsible ;  because  he  has  this  ever-energizing  will- 
power within  him  and  at  his  disposal,  because  he  utilizes 
it  himself  and  not  another,  according  to  what  he  is, 
and  because  he  is  what  he  is  by  reason  of  the  use 
which  he  has  made  of  his  original  endowments  and  ever 
varying  environment,  spiritual  and  material,  and  has, 
moreover,  the  perception  of  right  and  wrong.  All  this, 
which  is  so  evidently  true,  is  in  direct  opposition  to 
statements  which  have  been  repeatedly  made,  thus,  **  To 
act  freely  is  the  very  nature  of  the  will."  "The  human 
will,  because  the  activity  of  a  person  or  spirit  cannot 
but  be  free."  ''  Its  freedom  is  its  essence."  "  In  the 
material  and  spiritual  realms  causation  operates  differ- 
ently because  of  the  radical  difference  between  them.  In 
the  one  case  it  is  physical  and,  therefore,  must  be 
necessary ;  in  the  other  it  is  rational  and,  therefore, 
must  be  free." 

In  all  this  there  is  failure  to  make  proper  discrimina- 
tion between  the  will  as  a  power  of  the  soul  and  the 
soul,  or  person,  of  which  it  is  a  faculty.  It  is  the  soul 
that  is  free,  but  the  will  itself  is  not  free;  it  is  held, 
controlled  and  directed  by  the  soul,  or  person  who 
utilizes  it,  and  it  acts  according  to  the  law  of  causation. 
It  cannot  break  away  from,  nor  be  independent  of,  nor 
indifferent  to  the  control  and  direction  of  the  other 
powers  of  the  soul,  neither  can  they  break  away  from 
it.  These  ever-energizing  forces  are  ever  acting  and 
reacting  upon  one  another,  and  what  a  man  at  any 
given  moment  thinks  and  feels  and  says  and  does  is 
the  resultant  of  the  action  and  reaction  of  these  forces ; 
a   resultant   which   is   as   necessary   as   is   the   resultant 


454      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

of  the  acting  and  reacting  of  the  forces  of  the  material 
world  ;  a  change  may  take  place  at  any  instant  in  the 
man's  conduct,  but  only  as  there  is  a  change  in  the 
acting  and  reacting  of  the  forces  of  the  soul.  There 
can  no  more  be  an  independent  force  in  the  soul, 
than  there  can  be  an  independent  force  in  the  material 
world.  Were  this  possible  there  would  be  a  kingdom 
within  a  kingdom,  with  the  destruction  of  harmony  and 
order,  and  the  introduction  of  antagonism  and  discord ; 
the  soul,  with  its  varied  and  complicated  attributes  and 
activities,  would  not  be  a  closely  compacted  unit,  the 
man  would  not  have  complete  and  assured  mastery  over 
himself.  All  assured  accomplishment  of  purpose  and 
safety  against  wreck  and  ruin  for  the  engineer  depend 
upon  the  certain  response  of  the  steam  power  to  his 
control,  and  for  the  man  upon  the  certain  response 
of  the  will-power  to  the  control,  which  he  has  over  it, 
through  all  the  powers  of  the  soul. 

For  the  will  to  break  away  from  such  control  would 
be  like  the  breaking  away  of  the  main-spring  of  a 
watch,  or  of  the  heavy  weight  of  a  clock,  an  unintended, 
useless,  senseless,  disastrous  crash.  Taking  all  this  into 
consideration  and  making  the  proper  discrimination 
between  the  will,  as  a  power  of  the  soul  and  the  soul 
to  which  it  belongs,  it  is  evident  that  it  is  a  misstate- 
ment to  say:  "To  act  freely  is  the  very  nature  of  the 
will."  "Freedom  is  its  essence."  "The  human  will 
cannot  but  be  free."  It  is  free  only  in  this  sense  that 
it  is  a  force  which  acts  of  itself  in  virtue  of  its  own 
energy  and  can  form  any  kind  of  volition,  in  the  same 
sense  in  which  steam  is  free,  as  it  is  a  force  which 
acts  of  itself  in  virtue  of  its  own  energy  and  can  do  any 
kind  of  work  within  the  sphere  of  its  activity,  but 
otherwise  neither  the  will  force,  nor  the  steam  is  free, 
because  inseparably  connected  with  other  powers  and 
under  their  positive  control  and  direction.     They  both 


FREE-WILL  455 

act  under  the  law  of  causation  and  with  the  same 
necessity.  Hence  also,  it  is  a  misstatement  to  say, 
"That  in  the  two  cases  the  operation  of  causation  is 
different  because  of  the  radical  difference  between  them. 
In  the  one  case  it  is  physical  and,  therefore,  must 
be  necessary;  in  the  other  rational  and  therefore  must 
be  free." 

We  have  here  not  only  a  misstatement,  but  also  an  un- 
fortunate use  of  language.  Strictly  speaking  causation 
cannot  operate  freely,  it  must  operate  necessarily.  Causa- 
tion is  not  that  which  may  or  may  not  produce  its  effect; 
it  is  that  which  does  and  must  produce  its  effect.  If  its 
effect  does  not  follow  it  is  not  causation.  Causation, 
therefore,  is  not  brought  to  bear  upon  the  will,  if  it  does 
not  necessarily  determine  its  action,  and  the  will  is  free 
to  act,  or  not.  In  such  case  the  will  is  its  own  master; 
it  decides  for  and  determines  itself.  When  it  is  said  that 
in  the  case  of  the  will  causation  operates  freely,  the  only 
possible  meaning  is  that  the  will  is  free  to  act,  or  not  in 
response,  but  this  is  to  be  free  from  causation,  free  from 
that  which  necessarily  produces  its  effect.  If  the  will 
being  free  does  not  act  or  acts  in  a  different  way,  it  has 
not  been  caused,  and  if  it  does  yield  to  that  which  has 
been  brought  before  it,  it  has  not  been  caused  to  do  so 
by  it,  but  being  free  it  has  of  itself  yielded  instead  of  re- 
fusing, as  it  might  have  done.  It  acts  in  that  way 
because  it  does;  that  is,  of  itself  it  wills  in  that  par- 
ticular way.  There  is  no  causation,  no  force  outside  of 
the  will  producing  its  effect;  that  which  is  before  it  is 
only  an  opportunity,  suggestion,  proposition,  a  mode  of 
acting,  a  guide,  rule  or  dictation  presented  to  the  free 
will  upon  which  it  acts  or  not  as  it  may;  these  have  no 
power  to  cause  the  will  to  act  in  their  way,  if  the  will  be 
free  to  act  or  not  in  response.  For  free  will  they  are  not 
causes,  they  do  not  act  freely,  they  do  not  act  at  all  upon 
such  will.     They  are  that  which  a  free  will  uses.     I  put 


456      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

my  hand  in  the  fire  and  burn  myself.  The  fire  does  not 
burn  me,  it  cannot  even  take  me  unawares  and  burn  me, 
if  it  can  act  upon  me  only  as  I  will,  as  I  permit.  I  place 
my  hand  on  an  embossed  surface  and  make  an  impress 
upon  myself;  the  surface  is  inert;  the  impress  and  its 
character  are  mine  own.  I  make  it  by  using  that  sur- 
face, as  a  printer  makes  a  print  from  a  plate  which  he 
takes  from  a  large  collection ;  the  pint  and  its  characterr 
are  his  own  doing,  he  made  it  by  using  the  plate  which 
he  took.  So  a  free  will  is  not  caused  by  external  things, 
it  uses  them  as  it  wills. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  that  there  is  causation  acting 
freely  because  the  will  is  self-caused ;  such  are  the  forces, 
activities,  nature,  laws  and  character  of  the  will,  that  it  is 
caused  by  them  to  act  in  the  way  in  which  it  does  in  re- 
gard to  external  things,  for  this  would  be  necessity,  the 
will  would  not  be  acting  freely.  A  magnet  acting  as 
caused  from  within  by  its  own  forces,  nature,  law,  char- 
acter, is  under  necessity;  it  must  draw  to  itself  the  piece 
of  iron  presented  to  it.  A  man,  if  caused  by  his  own 
depraved  character,  habits  and  tastes  to  do  evil,  is  acting 
under  necessity.  If  a  man  is  caused  by  his  good  charac- 
ter to  act  uprightly,  he  also  is  acting  under  necessity. 
So  far  as  there  is  causation  there  must  be  necessity.  As 
the  leopard  cannot  change  his  spots,  so  they  cannot  do 
good  that  are  accustomed  to  do  evil.  If  the  will  be 
caused  from  within  it  acts  by  necessity. 

When  under  temptation  to  evil  men  do  that  which  is 
wrong,  it  is  generally  said  that  they  act  freely.  This, 
however,  is  not  the  case.  They  act  voluntarily  but  not 
freely;  they  have  been  overpowered,  overcome,  over- 
mastered, they  have  lost  self-mastery.  The  temptation 
has  compelled,  constrained,  caused  them  to  do  wrong. 
They  are,  however,  responsible  because  it  was  themselves 
that  did  the  wrong,  knowing  it  to  be  wrong ;  they  willed 
to  do  it,  it  was  their  own  act,  acting  under  compulsion ; 


AUTHORITY  457 

and  because  it  was  their  own  fault,  they  ought  to  have 
had  strength  of  character,  of  principle  and  of  self-mastery 
to  resist.  Inexcusably  vanquished  by  inferior  force,  as  is 
often  the  case  in  warfare,  or  not  having  the  strength 
which  they  ought  to  have  had,  they  were  at  once  both 
helpless  and  responsible.  This  illustration  serves  to 
show  that  causation  does  not  and  cannot  operate  freely, 
but  necessarily.  Another  illustration  showing  the  same 
thing  is  obedience  to  authority.  Such  obedience  is  vol- 
untary, but  not  free;  for  authority  is  no  authority  unless 
it  enforces  and  secures  obedience.  The  obedience  of 
children  to  parental  authority  is  voluntary  but  not  free. 
It  is  often  said,  those  children  are  under  perfect  control, 
they  are  uniformly  and  promptly  obedient — these  children 
are  beyond  control,  they  are  always  disobedient.  The 
reason  is  because  in  the  one  case  the  parental  authority 
is  real  and  has  controlling  power,  in  the  other  it  is  only 
nominal :  in  the  one  case  by  education,  training,  disci- 
pline, authority  has  been  enforced  and  established;  the 
children  are  not  their  own  masters,  they  cannot  do  as 
they  please,  but  must  live  and  act  according  to  parental 
rule  and  command.  In  the  other  case  there  has  been  no 
exercise  of  parental  authority,  the  children  have  been 
permitted  to  run  wild.  Parental  authority  is  still  further 
enforced  by  the  civil  power.  The  runaway  child  may  be 
arrested  and  returned  home;  the  incorrigible  may  be  im- 
prisoned in  the  house  of  refuge,  or  some  other  reforma- 
tory. By  law  the  child  is  not  free  till  of  full  age.  Just 
in  proportion  as  authority  is  real,  is  obedience  enforced. 
Under  army  and  navy  discipline  obedience  to  the  com- 
manding officer  is  voluntary,  but  at  the  same  time  com- 
pulsory. In  our  own  land  we  are  a  free  people  not 
because  we  are  free  to  obey  the  civil  government,  but 
only  because  we  make  our  own  laws  and  select  our  own 
rulers.  When  the  law  is  enacted  and  the  rulers  are  in 
office,  our  obedience  is  necessary,  as  necessary  as  is  the 


458      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

work  done  by  a  slave  beneath  the  lash  of  the  master  who 
owns  him.  In  the  family,  the  army,  navy  and  state, 
authority  is  the  rightful  exercise  of  power  compelling 
obedience,  power  which  produces  its  efifect;  it  is  a  cause 
operating  necessarily.  If  the  effect  does  not  follow, 
there  is  no  cause,  no  compelling  power,  no  obedience, 
no  authority.  The  Roman  centurion  well  expressed  the 
truth  who  said  to  Christ,  "For  I  also  am  a  man  set 
under  authority,  having  under  me  soldiers;  and  I  say 
unto  one,  go  and  he  goeth;  and  to  another,  come  and 
he  Cometh,  and  to  my  servant,  do  this  and  he  doeth  it. 
Speak  the  word  only  and  my  servant  shall  be  healed." 

Thus  it  is  evidently  impossible  for  causation  to  operate 
freely ;  so  far  as  there  is  causation,  the  effect  must  follow. 
To  say  that  in  the  spiritual  realm  it  is  rational  and  there- 
fore must  be  free  involves  error  of  thought  and  the 
wrong  use  of  language.  To  these  the  whole  difficulty  is 
due.  The  attempt  is  made  to  unite  causation  and  free 
action.  This  is  impossible ;  the  former  is  necessary,  the 
latter  is  without  necessity.  Moreover,  the  will  is  not 
free,  it  acts  under  the  law  of  causation.  Two  children 
are  punished,  the  wrong-doer  and  the  one  who  caused 
him  to  do  wrong.  The  act  of  the  first  was  not  itself 
both  caused  and  free.  There  was  causation  all  through. 
The  voluntary  act  of  the  wrong-doer  was  caused  by  his 
thoughts,  feelings,  wishes  etc.,  these  were  caused  by  the 
skillful  work  of  the  second  child.  When  he  had  fash- 
ioned them  aright  for  the  purpose,  they  framed  the 
volition  and  the  wrong  was  done.  This  explains  how 
the  voluntary  acts  of  a  man  may  be  caused  without  de- 
stroying his  free  agency.  It  is  by  operating  upon  and 
shaping  his  thoughts,  feelings,  wishes,  hopes,  fears,  etc., 
leaving  them  free  to  cause  his  volitions  as  they  will  and 
must  do;  the  man  is  free  from  violence  to  his  nature. 

There  is  need  of  careful  discrimination,  knowledge  and 
definition. — "Will"  is  simply  power  to  act,  or  execute,, 


EXECUTIVE  POWER  459 

it  can  no  more  be  said  to  be  self-caused,  than  can  the 
material  forces.  These  and  the  will  are  energizing 
powers  to  be  utilized.  The  will  is  "power  to  act"  used 
by  the  thinking,  feeling,  wishing  soul  to  impress,  execute 
itself  upon  the  activities  of  its  various  acting  and  react- 
ing faculties,  thus  bringing  them  under  its  direction  and 
control,  and  to  execute  its  thoughts,  feelings,  wishes, 
decisions,  etc.  The  will  has  no  choice  and  decision  of 
its  own.  Choice  is  emotional,  it  is  the  feeling  of  prefer- 
ence, of  "pleasure  in,"  and  "wish  for."  Decision  is  the 
conclusion  reached  by  thinking,  comparing,  considering, 
it  is  made  by  the  cognitive  powers.  The  two  act  and 
react  upon  one  another,  the  soul  by  will-power  executes 
them,  or  not,  according  to  the  strength  and  character 
of  the  feeling  and  thought;  these  as  executed  are  in  a 
secondary  sense  the  will  of  the  soul. 

This  executive  power  of  the  soul  is  the  same  that 
nature  has  over  its  activities.  But  this  power  of  nature 
is  not  called  will,  because  it  is  the  control  of  material 
forces  producing  material  phenomena;  while  that  of  the 
soul  is  the  control  of  spiritual  forces,  producing  spiritual 
phenomena;  such  as  thoughts,  reasoning,  purposes^ 
plans,  desires,  language,  speech,  bodily  movements  ex- 
pressive of  intelligence  and  emotion  and  directed  to 
intelligent  acts;  the  name  of  will  is  reserved  for,  and 
given  to  this  control.  Though  different  in  rank  and 
name  the  executive  power  itself  is  the  same  in  both 
cases.  Thus  heat  executes  itself  or  acts  upon  an  object 
and  makes  it  hot  like  itself;  it  acts  upon  the  force  of 
cohesion  and  drives  apart  the  particles  which  it  would 
hold  together  and  causes  expansion.  Steam  executes 
itself  or  acts  upon  an  object  and  imparts  its  own  motion 
to  it.  Gravity  which  is  the  power  of  drawing,  executes 
itself  upon  an  object  and  draws  it  to  itself;  the  crystal- 
lizing power  of  water  executes  itself  upon  the  molecules 
of  water  and  makes  them  crystallize  in  its  shape.     The 


46o      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

5ame  power  of  alum  executes  itself  on  the  alum  mole- 
cules and  makes  them  crystallize  in  its  form.  The  same 
power  of  the  diamond  executes  itself  on  it  and  makes  it 
take  the  form  of  its  crystal.  The  organic  forces  of 
plants  execute  themselves  on  the  material  at  hand,  and 
form  in  each  plant  its  own  foliage,  flowers  and  fruit. 
The  sun  executes  itself  on  far-distant  worlds,  making 
them  bright  like  itself  with  the  light  of  day  and  the 
brightness  of  'the  morning  and  evening  stars.  Thus  on 
throughout  the  entire  realm  of  nature  without  end.  In 
all  these  there  is  executive  power,  power  to  act,  to  con- 
trol. 

It  is  precisely  the  same  with  spiritual  forces — thus, 
thoughts  execute  themselves,  or  act  upon  emotions, 
making  them  like  themselves.  Wishes  execute  them- 
selves upon  the  thoughts,  so  that  we  carry  on  our 
thoughts  as  we  wish.  Imagination  executes  itself  upon 
the  hopes  and  fears,  making  them  of  like  character. 
Thinking  and  reasoning  execute  themselves  upon  our 
beliefs  or  trusts,  making  them  what  we  think  and  reason. 
Perceptions  of  external  objects  execute  themselves  upon 
the  whole  process  of  our  thoughts  and  reasoning,  mak- 
ing them  of  corresponding  character.  Perceptions  of 
sounds,  such  as  of  speech  and  music  execute  themselves 
upon  all  our  thoughts  and  emotions.  Thoughts,  emo- 
tions, wishes,  decisions  reached  by  reasoning,  execute 
themselves  upon  the  nerves  and  make  our  bodily  move- 
ments expressive  of  them.  The  whole  soul,  as  it  is  as  a 
unit  at  any  given  moment  executes  itself  upon  its  various 
faculties  and  makes  their  activities  like  itself.  A  soul  of 
great  intellect,  noble  and  good  executes  itself  upon  its 
activities  making  them  of  corresponding  character ;  a 
soul  weak,  foolish,  depraved  executes  itself  upon  its 
activities,  making  them  like  itself.  In  all  these  there  is 
the  simple  power  to  act,  to  execute,  to  control,  in  no 
wise  different  from  the  executive  power  of  nature,  though 


SELF-EXECUTION  461 

called  will  to  distinguish  the  spiritual  from  the  physical ; 
the  latter  is  the  executive  power  of  nature,  the  will  is 
the  executive  power  of  the  soul. 

Being  simply  "power  to  act,"  the  will  evidently  has 
no  choice  or  decision  of  its  own ;  by  it  the  soul,  as  it  is 
at  the  instant,  executes  itself,  as  an  engraved  stamp- 
executes  itself  on  that  upon  which  it  is  pressed. 

The  expression  "self-execution"  is  preferable  to  "self- 
determination."  The  latter  needs  careful  definition  and 
explanation  to  guard  it  from  error.  Without  these  it  im- 
plies that  man  has  a  power  which  he  does  not  possess — 
that  by  his  will  he  acts  independently  of  his  environment 
and  character,  and  by  mere  volition  can  immediately 
fashion  in  any  way  both  himself  and  his  conduct. 

"  Self-execution  "  expresses  all  and  more  than  all  the 
truth  expressed  by  "self-determination"  and  without 
the  ambiguity  and  error  of  the  latter  term.  The  precise 
truth  is,  that  the  whole  soul,  including  all  the  impres- 
sions made  upon  it  from  without,  impresses  itself  upon 
itself  and  its  environment.  Here  we  have  the  will  in 
its  true  nature,  as  mere  executive  power,  and  the  soul 
exerting  its  influence  upon  persons  and  things  accord- 
ing to  its  own  character,  and  fashioning  itself  according 
to  its  own  nature  and  character  and  the  new  elements 
and  influences  received  from  without,  such  as  know- 
ledge, impulse,  suggestion,  fears,  inspirations,  etc.  All 
this  is  exactly  and  pointedly  expressed  by  "self- 
execution,"  but  not  by  "self-determination." 

Causation  is  that  which  necessarily  produces  its  effect. 
Though  language,  because  of  its  brevity  and  imper- 
fection, often  seems  to  imply  it,  an  effect  cannot  have 
two  causes.  Every  force  is  a  cause ;  there  may  be  two 
or  more  forces,  that  is,  causes,  forming  a  cause ;  each  of 
the  component  forces,  or  causes,  produces  its  full  effect, 
but  the  resultant  is  as  they  act  upon  one  another ;  there 
may  be  a  series  of  causes,  each  effect  being  the  cause  of 


462      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

the  next  throughout  the  series ;  there  may  be  a  number 
of  causes  operating  on  the  same,  or  on  different  things 
and  at  different  times ;  and  each  of  several  causes  may 
have  the  same  effect.  All  these  distinctions  are  ex- 
pressed by  the  same  language,  which  quickly  and  with- 
out notice  passes  from  one  to  another. 

Influence  is  a  cause  producing  its  effect ;  the  slightest 
influence  is  causation.  The  term  properly  denotes  one 
of  two  or  more  forces  acting  together,  the  resultant  of 
which  is  the  effect.  Each  force  produces  its  own  effect, 
but  cannot  of  itself  produce  that  of  its  action  with 
the  others.  The  use  of  the  word  is  the  source  of  error, 
as  it  seems  to  intimate  that  there  may  be  influence 
without  causation.  This  is  impossible ;  forces  which 
produce  no  effect  upon  us  have  no  influence. 

"Free"  is  "free  from,"  free  from  compulsion,  from 
necessity,  and  hence  free  from  causation.  Men  and 
things  are  free  only  so  far  as  they  are  free  from  causa- 
tion. As  to  freedom  the  question  is  from  what  causes 
and  to  what  degree  are  men  and  things  free?  There  is 
no  perfect  freedom.  Men  and  things  are  free  only 
because  free  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  from  some 
causes,   though  not  free  from  all. 

An  agent  is  that  which  acts  by  inherent  force  or 
forces  which  produce  their  effects,  as  gravity,  heat,  etc., 
and  the  forces  of  thought,  emotion,  etc.  Things  and 
men  are  agents,  and  as  such  are  free,  so  far  as  free 
irom  external  causation,  which  is  never  altogether  the 
case. 

Definition  of  "  Free-agency  "  :  A  free-agent  is  that 
which  acts  by  its  own  inherent  forces,  according  to  its 
nature  and  laws,  free  from  all  violation  of  its  nature,  and 
in  varying  degree,  though  never  entirely,  free  from 
external  causation.  This  is  precisely  and  definitely  that 
of  which  men  are  conscious.  They  know  that  they  act 
by  their  own    inherent    powers ;   that    their  actions    are 


FREE  AGENCY  463 

rational  and  emotional  (caused  from  within)  and  in 
large  measure,  according  to  their  environment  (caused 
from  without),  the  only  freedom  of  which  they  are  con- 
scious, being  freedom  from  violation  of  their  nature  and 
in  some  measure  from  external  causation. 

The  consciousness  of  acting  by  their  own  inherent 
powers  is  often  misinterpreted  by  men  as  implying  a 
freedom  which  they  by  no  means  possess.  A  wound 
up  watch  acts  by  its  own  power,  but  not  independently 
of  its  structure  and  condition  as  a  watch  and  of  ex- 
ternal influences ;  so  men  act  by  their  own  power,  but 
not  independently  of  the  constitution  of  their  nature 
and  character,  and  they  and  their  environment  must 
necessarily  ever  act  and  react  upon  one  another. 

Hence  also,  there  are  various  degrees  of  freedom  and 
responsibility.  The  freedom  of  individuals  varies  ac- 
cording to  circumstances  and  some  men  are  more  free 
than  others.  Those  of  a  masterful  spirit  rule  their 
fellows  and  subdue  in  good  degree  the  external  forces 
brought  to  bear  upon  them,  while  men  of  a  weak  and 
yielding  disposition  are  ruled  by  others  and  swayed  by 
their  environment.  At  times  external  circumstances 
are  of  such  a  character  that  they  overpower  and  master 
the  individual  and  again  are  such  that  they  exert  only 
a  slight  influence.  By  education  and  self-discipline  men 
may  become  more  masterful  and  hence  more  free  from 
the  control  of  other  persons  and  of  circumstances. 

With  this  varying  freedom  responsibility  varies,  God 
alone,  the  omniscient  judge  of  all,  being  able  to  deter- 
mine its  degree,  making  all  due  allowances.  Those  of 
superior  endowment  and  education  and  those  who 
have  had  all  things  in  their  favor  will  be  held  to  a 
more  strict  account  than  the  weak  and  ignorant  and 
those  who  have  had  all  things  against  them. 

Freedom,  causation,  necessity  prevail  alike  in  the 
mineral,  mechanic,  organic,  animal  and  human  realms. 


464      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

A  stone,  or  any  material   object,  is  a  free  agent,  it 
acts   by   its   own    power   and    according  to   what    it   is 
in  itself,   its  nature,  character  and  laws.     It  is   free  so 
far  as  it  is  free  from  external  causation.     It  does  not 
act  only  as  acted  upon,  but  it  acts  by  its  own  power 
and  in  its   own  way,   except   as   it   is   overpowered   by 
external    forces,   and    only   so    far   as    they   are    strong 
enough  to  overcome  its  resistance.     Of  itself  the  earth, 
rotating  on  its  axis,  would  move  on  forever  in  a  straight 
line   with   undiminished   force   and   velocity.     It   moves 
in  its   orbit  around  the  sun   because   the   force   of   the 
sun  deflects  it  to  that  degree,  but  cannot  overcome  its 
resistance  further  and  draw  it  down  to  its  own  surface, 
nor  interfere  with  its  rotation,  momentum  and  velocity. 
Should   the   sun   relax   its   energy,  the   earth  would   of 
itself    go    on    in    its    own    way   in    a    straight   line.     It 
is  a  free  agent.      A  stone  thrown  by  you  into  the  air, 
moves  because  you   have   exerted   your  strength   upon 
it  and  have  overcome  its  resistance ;  a  large  stone  you 
could  not  overcome  and  throw.     The  stone  in  motion 
would  move  by  its  own  energy  in  a  straight  line  for- 
ever, but  it  is  overcome  by  the  force  of  gravity,  which 
draws  it  to  the  ground  against  its  resistance,  but  only 
in  a  curved  line  and  gradually,  not  having  force  enough 
to  do   otherwise ;   finally  the   stone  strikes   the  ground 
and  is  completely  overpowered.     Thus  it  is  with  man. 
He  is  as  free  as  a  stone,  but  not  more  truly  so.     He 
like   it   acts   of    himself,    by   his   own   power   according 
to    his    own    nature,    character    and    laws,   in    his    own 
way  except  as  he  is  overpowered  by  forces  ever  acting 
upon  him,  and  only  so  far  as  they  are  strong  enough 
to    overcome    his    resistance.      Man,  the  earth  and   the 
stone  are  alike  free  agents. 

A  watch  is  free — it  moves  of  itself  for  hours,  in  good 
degree  free  from  external  causes,  and  according  to  what 
it  is  within  itself;    if    good    and    in  proper  condition  it 


FREEDOM  465 

will  keep  time,  if  poor  and  in  poor  condition  will  itself 
gain  or  lose  time.  It  moves  and  governs  itself,  till 
exhausted ;  man  can  do  no  more. 

All  plants  in  like  manner  are  free  agents.  They 
determine  themselves  by  themselves.  By  their  vital 
forces  and  activities,  according  to  their  own  nature, 
character  and  laws  and  in  their  own  way  they  perform 
all  their  own  mysterious  organic  functions,  select  from 
air,  earth,  water  and  sunshine  appropriate  materials  and 
construct  their  own  roots,  stems,  foliage,  buds,  blos- 
soms, fruit  and  seed,  reproducing  themselves  after  their 
kind.  They  are  free  except  so  far  as  overcome  by 
influences  from  without  and  caused  to  grow  otherwise 
than  they  would,  stunted,  ill-formed,  sickly  and  without 
flowers  and  fruit.  Man  and  plants  are  alike  free.  All 
animals  are  free  also.  The  same  definition  of  free 
agency  applies  equally  to  the  earth,  stone,  watch,  plant, 
animal  and  man. 

In  the  five  realms  freedom  is  the  same,  the  only 
difference  being  one  of  rank,  of  greater  or  less 
superiority  according  to  the  character  of  the  things 
and  forces.  A  stone  has  no  spiritual  powers,  and  can- 
not act  with  powers  which  it  does  not  possess,  but  it 
does  act  freely  with  those  which  it  has,  resisting  all 
opposing  powers.  It  is  its  nature  to  determine  itself 
by  itself ;  it  is  free,  so  far  as  free  from  external  causa- 
tion due  to  forces  acting  upon  it.  Its  freedom  is 
inferior  in  rank  to  that  of  man,  only  because  man's 
freedom  is  that  of  superior  powers;  those  of  conscious- 
ness, intelligence,  emotion,  desire,  volition. 

So  also,  causation  and  necessity  prevail  alike  in  the  five 
kingdoms.  The  activities  of  material  objects  are  caused 
from  within  ;  they  are  caused  also  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree by  forces  from  without,  according  as  such  are  strong 
enough  to  overcome  their  resistance  and  are  brought  to 
bear  upon  them.  The  causation,  whether  from  within 
30 


466      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

or  without,  is  necessary.  The  plant's  activities  are 
caused  by  its  own  vital  powers,  etc.,  from  within,  and 
also  by  external  forces  so  far  as  these  are  brought  to 
bear  upon  them  with  sufficient  power  to  interfere  with 
and  determine  their  actions.  Here  also  is  necessity. 
The  same  is  true  of  animals.  So  likewise  with  man;  all 
his  activities  are  caused  by  his  own  powers,  etc.,  from 
within  and  also  by  external  things  so  far  as  they  are  or 
have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  him  and  have  power  to 
determine  his  thoughts,  emotions,  desires,  hopes,  fears, 
etc.,  and  through  them  as  secondary  causes,  his  volitions. 
Here  are  causation  and  necessity  both  from  within  and 
from  without,  as  truly  as  is  the  case  with  the  animal, 
plant,  mechanism  and  mineral. 

To  such  a  degree  is  man  caused  from  without,  that  it 
is  difficult  to  decide  whether  the  causes  from  within  or 
those  from  without  have  the  greater  effect.  A  citizen  of 
our  own  land,  a  Filipino,  a  Russian  peasant,  the  Tsar  on 
the  throne  of  his  fathers,  have  been  made  in  character, 
thoughts,  emotions,  hopes,  fears,  aspirations,  beliefs, 
efforts,  habits,  conduct,  speech,  what  they  are,  by  birth 
and  life-long  environment.  Addison  says,  "  What  sculp- 
ture is  to  marble,  education  is  to  the  soul."  Unprogres- 
sive  conditions  of  human  society  reproduce  the  men  of 
the  past  with  unfailing  regularity.  In  localities  where 
occupations  are  handed  down  from  father  to  son  the 
individuals  are  the  exact  reproduction  of  those  of  former 
generations.  Savage  and  barbarous  people  when  dis- 
covered are  perfect  representatives  of  their  forefathers 
from  remotest  times.  An  Arabian  Sheik  of  to-day  is  an 
Abraham  still  living.  The  Chinese  in  their  own  land 
differ  in  no  respect  from  men  of  centuries  ago.  Until 
recently  the  Japanese  were  no  other  than  their  ancestors, 
and  would  have  remained  such  were  it  not  that  by  West- 
ern civilization  they  are  being  made  like  ourselves.  The 
native  tribes  of  Africa  have  been  unchanged  for  ages,  but 


CAUSATION  467 

are  now  rapidly  advancing  by  reason  of  the  opening  of 
the  Dark  Continent.  Even  the  weather  determines  how 
we  think,  feel,  act  and  speak;  by  utmost  efTort  we  can- 
not entirely  throw  of¥  its  mastery  over  us. 

The  truth  plainly  and  briefly  stated  is,  all  activities  of 
all  material  things,  plants,  animals  and  men  are  caused 
and  as  caused  are  necessary,  but  some  of  these  activities 
are  free  also ;  not  that  they  can  be  both  caused  and  un- 
caused, but  that  they  may  be  free  from  some  causes, 
though  never  free  from  all;  that  is  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  free  from  some  external  causes,  either  as  some 
external  forces  do  not  bear  upon  them,  or  they  by  re- 
sistance destroy  in  some  measure  the  efificiency  of  such 
forces.  Like  that  of  the  stone,  watch,  plant  and  animal, 
man's  aciivity  is  caused  by  that  which  is  within,  and 
always  in  some  large  measure  by  that  which  is  ex- 
ternal, but  they  all  and  he  are  free  agents  because  they 
act  by  their  own  powers  according  to  their  nature,  char- 
acter, etc.,  and  are  in  large  measure,  though  never  alto- 
gether, free  from  external  causes.  Though  he  is  free  in 
common  with  all  things  else,  man's  freedom  is  the  far 
greater  and  superior  because  it  is  not  the  freedom  of  the 
animal,  plant,  mechanism  or  mineral,  but  the  freedom  of 
a  god-like  being;  a  freedom  so  superior  that  ordinarily 
all  other  freedom  is  obscured  and  disregarded,  as  though 
man  alone  were  a  free-agent.  The  idea  of  causation  is 
perfectly  definite;  it  is  a  cause  necessarily  producing  its 
effect  and  we  can  conceive  of  no  difference  in  it  whether 
it  acts  in  the  material  or  spiritual  world. 

By  holding  up,  as  we  have  done,  our  exposition  of  the 
human  will  in  contrast  with  that  given  by  others,  its 
truth  has  come  the  more  prominently  forward.  It  may 
well  be  regarded  established  that  the  will  acts  strictly 
according  to  the  law  of  causation,  which  acts  always  and 
everywhere  in  the  same  way.  But  further  confirmation 
is  at  hand. 


468      IX    NEW  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  WILL 

A  striking  illustration  of  the  causation  of  the  will  is 
afforded  by  vacillation.  Under  it  all  the  varying  actions 
are  volitions — they  rapidly  come  and  go  as  they  do, 
because  the  man  is  in  a  tumult  of  conflicting  feeling, 
hopes,  fears,  thoughts,  reasons,  and  conclusions.  These 
sway  the  will  as  the  fitful  winds  sway  the  weather  vane; 
both  the  will  and  the  vane  are  formed  to  move  in  any 
direction,  but  they  move  as  determined  by  the  influence 
to  which  they  are  subjected.  They  are  for  this  very 
purpose;  the  vane  to  show  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
without  which  it  would  be  useless;  and  the  will  to  exe- 
cute, to  give  expression  and  effect  to  the  thoughts, 
principles,  purposes,  emotions,  wishes  of  the  man,  with- 
out which  it  would  be  of  no  value;  it  would  be  annoy- 
ance beyond  endurance  if  the  will  did  not  respond 
exactly  and  necessarily  to  the  wishes  and  mandates  of 
the  soul,  like  a  mule  with  his  power  of  contrary  choice. 

Again,  it  is  only  as  the  will  acts  under  causation,  that 
our  conduct  is  rational  and  ourselves  responsible.  This 
is  self-evidently  the  case.  If  our  volitions  are  formed 
uncaused  by  our  thoughts,  they  are  irrational;  and  if 
formed  uncaused  by  our  thoughts,  principles,  views,  feel- 
ings, etc.,  they  have  no  moral  character.  Such  volitions 
do,  in  certain  abnormal  or  deranged  conditions,  occur, 
and  by  common  consent,  the  man  is  considered  not 
responsible  for  them.  Volitions  are  often  formed  in 
moments  of  thoughtlessness,  inadvertence,  abstraction, 
absent-mindedness,  intense  excitement,  sleep,  dreams, 
somnambulism,  drunkenness,  hypnotism,  lunacy,  idiocy. 
The  volitions  in  all  these  cases  have  two  characteristics 
in  common ;  they  are  not  properly  determined  by  the 
man's  thoughts  etc.,  and  for  them  the  man  is  not  re- 
sponsible. There  is  in  these  cases  some  interference 
with,  some  deficiency,  or  derangement  of  the  proper  and 
normal  control  and  determination  of  the  will  by  the 
other  powers  of  the  soul,  and  it  is  because  the  will  acts 


RESPONSIBILITY  469 

without  proper  causation,  that  the  volitions  formed  are 
irresponsible;  they  are  irrational  and  without  moral 
character.  It  must  also,  however,  be  borne  in  mind, 
that  the  man  himself  may  be  held  responsible  for  being 
in  such  conditions  ;  as  for  example,  he  has  no  right  to 
be  drunk,  and  drunkenness  affords  no  due  excuse  for 
wrong  doing.  The  man  should  ever  hold  himself  in  per- 
fect control  and  never  seek  in  the  loss  of  self-mastery  an 
excuse  for  evil  deeds;  and  there  can  be  self-mastery, 
rational,  moral,  responsible,  only  in  so  far  as  the  will  is 
controlled  by  the  other  powers  of  the  soul,  not  freely, 
but  necessarily.  Only  thus  can  self-mastery  be  assured. 
It  must  rule  with  no  uncertain  power. 

Again,  the  causation  of  the  will  is  the  teaching  of 
Scripture.  It  speaks  of  the  dominion  under  which  the 
will  is.  The  sinner  is  the  servant  of  his  own  vile  nature 
and  habits.  Christ  makes  men  free  by  change  of  mas- 
ters. He  sets  men  free  from  the  dominion  of  sin  by 
making  them  the  servants  of  righteousness.  This  is  to 
be  free  indeed,  not  because  men  freely  submit  to  the  new 
dominion,  which  would  be  no  freedom,  or  no  dominion; 
not  that  they  are  free  to  do  right,  or  wrong,  but  because 
they  are  free  from  the  power  over  them  of  sin  and  evil, 
and  because  men  have  and  act  out  their  true  nature,  as 
originally  designed  and  made,  when  under  the  dominion 
of  righteousness.  According  to  Scripture,  all  wrong 
and  wrong  doing  are  foreign,  abnormal,  unnatural  to 
man ;  they  are  a  disease,  deformity,  malformation,  mon- 
strosity, harmful,  destructive,  and  to  be  free  from  these 
is  to  be  free  indeed. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  exposition  of  the  will,  which  we 
have  given  is,  that  it  is  the  application  of  the  scientific 
view  of  the  material  universe,  and  is  formed  from  the  law 
of  the  conservation,  or  persistence  and  correlation  and 
transmutation  of  forces.  The  individual  human  soul  is 
conceived  of,  as  an  ever-energizing  cosmos ;  its  activities 


470       '  IX     THE  SOUL  A  COSMOS 

being  due  to  the  harmonious  acting  and  reacting  upon 
one  another  of  its  varied  powers.  These  are  all  cease- 
lessly energizing,  are  inseparably  bound  together  and 
invariably  act  as  a  unit;  every  volition  is  the  act  of  the 
entire  soul,  the  resultant  of  its  combined  forces  and 
activities;  without  any  break,  hiatus,  gulf,  or  separation, 
there  is  an  even  flow  in  the  soul's  activity;  every  step, 
or  stage  springs  from  the  immediately  preceding  one 
and  determines  the  next,  precisely  as  is  the  case  with 
the  material  cosmos;  it  is  self  which  determines  self; 
the  whole  make-up  of  the  soul,  its  character,  thoughts, 
emotions,  views,  principles,  hopes,  fears,  habits,  voli- 
tions, acts,  the  entire  self  of  one  moment  determines 
self  of  the  next  moment;  the  only  exception,  interrup- 
tion, or  uprising  of  the  altogether  new  and  isolated 
possible,  being  such  as  may,  and  do  arise  from  influences 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  soul  from  its  outward  en- 
vironment, the  soul  in  itself  and  activities  being  the 
resultant  of  the  internal  and  external  forces.  And  as 
the  material  universe  can  never  cease  to  be,  unless 
destroyed  ab  extra,  so  the  soul,  the  spiritual  cosmos, 
can  never  of  itself  lose  its  being.  It  must  forever  con- 
tinue to  be  with  the  full  energizing  of  all  its  faculties ; 
but  unlike  the  material  world,  which  ever  tends  to 
equilibrium  of  its  ever-energizing  forces  and  to  stagna- 
tion, it  evermore  remains  in  full  activity  because  of  the 
influences  ever  brought  to  bear  upon  it  from  the 
material  and  spiritual  realms  within  which  it  lives,  and 
especially  from  the  Great  Being  for  fellowship  with 
whom  it  was  made,  whose  likeness  it  bears  and  with 
whom  it  holds  communion  forever. 

Herein  is  its  superior  exaltation,  its  god-like  char- 
acter, that  it  has  been  endowed  with  will-power ;  and 
herein  its  great  responsibility,  that  over  that  will-power 
it,  the  indivisible  soul,  the  unit  of  combined,  ever-inter- 
acting powers,  has  been  entrusted  with  complete  control. 


CHAPTER    X 

Conclusion 

Truth  Unassailable 

The  Conclusion  reached — 

The  Philosophy  of  Pure,  Thoroughgoing  Realism  is 
an  Impregnable  Stronghold.  It  gives  us  assured  Truth, 
that  which  the  human  Soul  desires  above  all  things. 

We  have  this  in  the  Infallible  Testinony  of  Conscious- 
ness, as  universally  interpreted  by  men. 

By  Intuitive  Perception  we  immediately  cognize  the 
Realities  of  the  spiritual  and  the  material  world. 

We  know  that  they  are,  and  that  they  are  what  we 
cognize  them  to  be. 

By  the  same  Infallible  Testimony  we  trace  all  things 
of  the  Material  World  up  to  the  First  Cause,  which  to 
be  such  must  necessarily  be  The  Infinite  Absolute,  and 
must  have  within  it,  the  intelligence,  design,  plan,  pur- 
pose, adaption  of  means  to  ends,  law,  order,  harmony, 
beauty,  goodness  everywhere  prevailing  in  Nature  and  in 
its  relation  to  the  spiritual,  and  having  these  must  have 
together  with  them  Volition  also,  without  which  these 
cannot  possibly  be. 

We,  likewise,  trace  ourselves  as  Living  Persons  to  the 
First  Cause,  which  as  the  Author  of  our  being  must  have 
within  Himself  a  Living  Personality ;  whatever  else  He 
may  be  cannot  possibly  be  destructive  of  this. 

It  is  an  act  of  unreason  to  ignore  God. 

It  is  the  highest  act  of  human  Intelligence  for  it  to 

471 


472  X    TRUTH  UNASSAILABLE 

confine  itself  within  the  Finite,  its  own  sphere,  and  in 
seeking  the  origin  of  all  being  to  rest  content  upon 
reaching  The  Infinite  Absolute,  essentially  the  Invisible, 
the  Unthinkable,  yet  known  in  our  knowledge  of  His 
works  in  Nature  and  of  ourselves  as  His  Offspring,  and 
by  the  face  to  face  Vision  of  the  Supernatural  One,  who 
walked  among  and  was  seen  and  heard  and  handled  of 
men;  God  made  known  in  fashion  as  a  man. 

With  this  Infallible  Testimony  we,  amid  the  uncer- 
tainties and  dangers  of  the  present  Age  of  Doubt,  hold 
firmly  in  our  possession  Truth  Unassailable,  The  Truth 
of  Natural  Realism  and  of  a  Personal  God. 

"For  thh  Invisible  things  of  Him  from  the  creation  of  the 
World  are  clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  which 
ARE  made,  even  His  Eternal  Power  and  Godhead." 


INDEX. 


Abnormal  Conditions,  284-8 

Absolute — see  Infinite, 

Act  of  Perceiving,  219 

Acquired  Perceptions,  Not,  251 

Adam  and  Christ,  71 

Aerial  Images,  274 

Agnosticism — compare  Ch.  7,  Sec. 

5,  36 
All  changes  are  Effects,  396 
Anatomy,  163 
Animal  Life,  59 
Animal  Morality,  421 
Animal  Self-Consciousness,  204-5 
Annihilation,  103 
Anthropomorphic,  351 
Apparent  Deceptions  of  Vision,  271 
Archimedes,  208 
Attention,  299 
Automobile  Power,  209 

Barbarous  Races,  64 
Being,  308 

Being,  an  Attribute,  309,  335 
"Being    of    Being,"    "True    Be- 
ing." 324-5 
Being  —  Infinite      Absolute,      un- 
known,  336;    how   known  —  un- 
thinkable, 337-41 
Belief,  9 

Belief,  the  Faculty  of,  302 
Bent-Stick  in  Water,  272 
Berkeley,  Theory  of  Vision,  250 
Bible— True,  73 
Binocular  Vision,  263 
Blackness,  237-239,  243,  244 
Board  between  the  Eyes,  266 
Bodily  Feelings,  148 

the  Reflex  of  the  Body,  149 

the  object  of,  150 

spiritual,  151 

material,  156 
Button,  Steel,  241 

Camera  and  Retina,  221-274 
Carpenter,     Dr.    W.     B. — Double 

Vision,  268 
Cathedral,  261 


Cause  and  Effect  an  alleged  excep- 
tion, 397;  the  First,  399 

Cause  for  Every  Thing,  453 

Causeless  Act  of  Will,  impossible, 
447-8 

Cause  and  Effect — Mystic  Views 
Rejected,  388 

Central  Point  of  Retina,  change  of, 
265,  269-71 

Cerebrum,  178 

Child  disappears  at  top  of  pole,  ex- 
plained, 282 

Choice,  406,  459 

Christ,  42,  43,  340,  341 

Christ,  we  know,  343 

Civilization,  primeval    source,  64-5 

Color — cognized  as  a  material  qual- 
ity, 155 

Color,  152,  154,  158-9,  160,  i6g, 
197,  229,  236,  238,  239-240,  241, 
242-246 

Color  Blindness,  277 

Colors — complementary,  277 

Colorlessness,  244 

Common  Sense  and  Philosophy, 
contrast  between,  293 

Common  Sense  and  Philosophy 
blended  as  One,  293 

Complete  Content  of  Self,  un- 
known, 298 

Concept  of  Color  as  a  Quality,  238 

Conclusion  —  Truth  Unassailable, 
471-472 

Concrete  Being,  Time  an  Attri- 
bute of,  310;  see  also  1 12-120 

Conscience,  105,  397,  401-2-7-9-25 

Conscience,  4.02-408,  417-418;  not  a 
special  attribute,  409 

Consciousness,  i 
Trustworthy,  i 
One  Power,  3 
Why  Infallible,  4-7 
Concentration  of,  299 

Conscious  throughout  the  body, 
139-141 

Contradictory,  the,  to  us  not  to  be 
rejected,  345-346;  also  vi 

Cosmos,  290 

473 


474 


INDEX 


Cosmos  a  Reality,  332 

the  material,  145,  292 
Cosmos,  the  Spiritual,  145,427,470 
Cosmos,  true  concept  of,  293 

Delicacy  of  Presentation  by  Organs 

oi  Perception,  211 
Depravity,  Cause  of,  51,  398 
Determination,    Self — Self-Execu- 
tion preferable,  427,  461 
Discursive  Reasoning,  295 
Distances,  Visual,  250-6-g 
in  young  animals,  258 
by  Infants,  258-9 
Distant    Objects    enter    the    Eye, 

227-229 
"  Distinct  as  the  billows,"  317 
Distinction  between    the   Spiritual 

and  Material  Essential,  379 
Distorted  Images,  279 
Divine  Immanence,  65,  350 
Dominant  Ideas,  283,  288 
Dormant  Life,  Plant,  Animal,  356, 

360 
Double  Personality,  94 
Double  Vision,  shown,  267-278 
the  difificulty  explained,  268 

Ear  for  sound  only,  177 

Ear,  287 

Echo,  287 

Effect  essential  to  power,  368 

Effect,  manifested  Efificiency,  375 

Effect,  manifested  efficiency,  394 

Efficient  Reality,  368,  389 

Efficiency — a  seen  reality,  375; 
ever-energizing,  390;  Intuition 
of  in  children,  391;  Consciousness 
of,  369 

Efficiencies  of  the  world,  372 

Elements,  317 

Energy    expended    in    work,    437- 

Essential  Distinction   between  the 

Spiritual  and  Material,  379 
Eternity    radically    different    from 

Time,  378 
Evolution,  29-55-57 

so-called,  68 
Eye,  220  seq. 

its  luminosity,  172 
Executive  Power,  406-7,  459 
Executive  Power,  Will,  427 

self-execution     versus     self-de- 
termination, 427,  461 
over  the  body,  370 
External  Perception,  160,  184 

nature    of,    190;    testimony    of 
Consciousness,  195-207 


External  Perception  —  Scientific 
view  in  accord  with  Popular,  195- 
206 

Fakir,  Hindu,  282,  284 
Finger,  the  Little,  seen  double,  264 
Finger-pressure  on  Eye,  266 
First  Cause,  399;  The  Infinite  Ab- 
solute, 400 
Flash  of    Lightning  a  Substance, 

Flavors,  289 

Foramen  Centrale  of  Retina,  265 

Forces,  thought  of,  yiZ 

Free  agency,  462-3-9 

Freedom,  397,  428,  465,  469 

Freedom — a  stone,  etc.,  464-5-7 

Free  Will,  455;  not  moral,  406 

Geometr}',  384 

Germ — Organic — Vitality  in,  358 
Glowing  Spark,  motion  of,  266 
God,   definition  of,  39-40;   Christ, 
341;  the  Invisible  seen  in  Christ, 
346;   comes  forth   from   His   In- 
finity and  enters  our  finite  realm, 
344;  our  highest  thoughts  of,  345; 
Intuition  of,  347;  known  in  His 
works,   348;    compare,  38;    soul- 
thirst  for,  349;  immanence,  350; 
universal  thought  of,  26 
God,    in    Nature    and    Men,    415; 

Moral  Argument  for,  417 
Gustatory  Nerves,  177 

Hamilton,   14,   160,   250,  291,  303, 

312,  321 
Hermance  in  India,  282 
Heredity  and  the  creation  of    the 

soul,  50 
Hindu  Fakir,  282,  284 
Holy    Spirit,   impressions  due    to, 

348 
Hypnotism,  95,  97,  loi,  468 

Idealism,  159-160,  203;    contrasted 

with  Realism,  333 
Identity,  Personal,  76 
Immanence  of  God,  65,  350 
Immediate  Cognition  of  Realities, 

301 
Immortality,  102 
Impregnable  Truth,  380 
Inanimate  Things  have  life,  354 
Incarnation,  the,  340 
Inert — nothing,  395 
Infants,  visual  distance  by,  258 
Infallibility,  200,  219 


INDEX 


475 


Infinite  Absolute,  the,  334;  we 
know  that  it  is,  334;  not  what  it 
is,  335;  origin  of  the  thought  of, 
334,  3?>7',  known  in  its  eflfects, 
338;  compare,  36-40 

Infinitude,  129,  130 

Instinct,  147 

Intaglio,  281 

Internal  Perception,  294 

Intuition,    7,    294-6;    in    children, 

391  . 
Intuitions,  306  seq. 
Intuition  of  God,   347;  finite,  but 

real  and  true,  347 
Intuitions  source  of  all  knowiedge, 

301 
Inverted  Picture,  Eye,  259 
Involuntary  Acts,   good  and    bad, 

405 

James,  Prof.,  Immortality,  109,  no 
John,    St.,    differs    from    Philoso- 
phers, 193,  194 
Judgments,  11,  18,  303 

Kinetoscope,  276 
Knowledge,  nature  of,  27 
Knowledge  of  God,  illustrated,  38 

Law  of  Non-Contradiction,  383, 426 
Life — is    "Being,"    352;    animal, 

359;    plant,   354;    dormant,    356- 

359;  the  great  mystery  of,  363; 

manifested  life  we  know,  364 
Light,  Color,  objective  Reality  of, 

236;   sources  of,   170;  luminosity 

of  the  eye,  172 
Localizing  of  the  Sensations,  161 

Male  and  Female,  6g 

Man,  the  First,  52 

Man,  what  is  he,  144;  miracle- 
worker,  428,  445 

Material  Cosmos,  292 

McCosh,  11-17,  77,  160,  250,  291, 
292,  313 

Memory,  78,  79,  82,  84,  86-88,  87, 
89,  100 

Miracle,  defined,  191;  Nature  not 
violated,  428 

Miraculous  Power,  188,  428,  445 

Morality,  animal,  423 

Moral  Good  in  animals,  421;  moral 
argument  for  God,  417;  in  char- 
acter, 404;  obligation,  401;  neces- 
sity of,  423 

Motion,  122,  223-s,  27^,  277 

Motion,  Visible  Force,  373-4 

Motion — visible  power,  393 


Natural  Realism,  291-3 

Nature  not  violated,  428 

Necessary  Truths,  307-8,  381-382 

Nerve — impulse  to  the  brain,  163-4 

Nerves  of  special  sense,  169 

New  Psychology,  94 

New  Scientific  Theory  of  Life,  57, 

58,  66 
Non-Contradiction,  law  of,  383 
"  No  Object  without  Subject,"  331 
Nothing  Inert,  395 
Numbers,  383 

Objective    Reality    of    Light    and 

Color,  236 
Obligation,  407;  Origin  of,  409 
Olfactory  Nerves,  177 
Omnipresence  of  God,  130 
Omnipresence  of  the  Soul,  136,  164 
One,    The    One    who    is    infinite, 

343-4 
Organic  Germ,  vitality  in,  358 
Organs  not  cognized,  213 
Organs  of  Perception,  207 
Organ  of  Sight,  220 
Origin  of  Man,  57 
Origin  of  Moral  Obligation,  ch.  8, 

sec.  5,  409.  . 
Origin  of  Spirit,  61 
Origin  of  Woman,  70 
Our  Origin,  ch.  2,  page  21 
Our  Sphere,  20 
Own-Being,  324,  332 

Pantheism,  28 

Parallel  Lines,  17,  385 

Partial  Knowledge  of  the   Infinite 
impossible.  Why,  344 

Pendulum,  438 

Perception    apparent     Deceptions, 
271 

Perception  External,  160,  184 

Perception  Internal,  294 

Perception  Scientific,  290,  300-1 

Perception    of    Distance,    not    ac- 
quired, 251 

Perception,  Organs  of,  207 

Perfumes,  289 

Personal  Identity,  76 

Person,  364;  identity,  366;  real,  327 

Perspective    in    paintings    and    in 
vision,  253,  257 

Phantasie,  substantial,  315 

Phenomena,  227;  meaning  of  word,. 
306;  the,  of  the  World  Real,  329 

Philosophy    and    Common    Sense 
blended  as  One,  293 
hitherto  contradictory,  293 

Physiology,  163,  169-179 


476 


INDEX 


Power,  366;  a  substantial  reality, 
367;  effect  essential  to,  368;  a 
Reality  seen  by  all,  392;  execu- 
tive, over  the  body,  370 

Primary  Thought  of  Substance,  320 

Primary  Qualities,  202-4 

Primary  and  Secondary  Qualities, 
166-7 

Prime  Reality,  the  Spiritual,  296-7 

Prisoner  m  dark  cell,  blinded,  270 

Prisoner,  solitary,  becomes  idiotic, 

435 
Proof  of  a  Personal  God,  22 
Proper-Being,  324-28 
Psalm  139,  75 
Psychology,  94 

Qualities, primary  and  secondary,i66 

Realism,  40;  recent  attacks  upon, 

323 
Realism  Natural,  291-3 
Realism  is  Truth,  324,  334 
Realism  and  Idealism,  contrasted, 

333 
Realities,  Cognized,  184 
Realities  due  to  secondary  causes, 

328;  due  to  man,  330 
Realities,  spiritual,  294 
Reality,  323-325 
Reality  of  Efficiency,  389 
Real  Substance,  296 
Reid,  160,  291 

Refined  World  for  the  Soul,  173 
Reflecting  Telescope,  261 
Reflex  of  Bodily  Activities,  148,  165 
Relation  between  the  Spiritual  and 

the  Material  is  that  of  Mandate 

and  Obedience,  427,  443 
Religion,  104-6,  424 
Religion,  scientific  view  of,  52;  our 

supreme  duty,  424 
Religious  Theistic  argument,  426 
Responsibility,  397-9,  426-8,  452-3, 

456,  463,  469,  470 
Retina,     172-3-4;     Central    Point, 

265;  change  of  centre,  269-271 
Retina  and  Camera,  221,  274 
Revelation,  42 
Revelation  and  Science,  53 
Reversal  of  Picture,  eye,  262 
Right  and  Wrong,  ch.  8,  sec.  5 
Right  and  Wrong,  401 
Right  the  Great  Reality,  403 

Science  and  Revelation,  53 
Scientific  Perception,  290-300 
Scientific  Sight,  285-6 
.Scientific  Theory  of  Life,  New,  57 


Self- Approbation  —  reproach ,    402, 

Self-Consciousness,  294;  in  animals, 

294-S 
Self-Execution,  461 
Sensation,  148;  from  lost  members, 

142 

Sensations,  Localization  of ,  161,  164 

Space  and  Time.  16,  112 

Space,  120;  an  attribute  of  material 
things,  122;  Mosaic  account  of, 
124;  empty,  122,  127;  Real  Nature 
of,  128;  a  finite  reality,  130 

Space,  Idea  of,  from  Cognition,  121 

Space  and  Infinitude,  379;  relation 
to  Infinitude,  illustrated,  133 

Space  and  the  Sotil,  134;  omnipres- 
ence of  Soul  in,  136 

Space,  necessary  thought  of,  125 

Stars,  230 

Stewart,  Dugald,  •]"],  160,  291 

St.  John,  193;  differs  from  Philoso- 
phers, 194 

Soul  a  Cosmos,  470 

Soul,  created,  49;  the  human  soul, 
145;  a  spiritual  Cosmos,  145,  427, 
470;  omnipresence  of,  164;  soul- 
thirst  for  God.  349;  void  condi- 
tion of,  146,  301 

Sound,  objective  reality  of,  287 

Source  of  all  knowledge,  301 

Spirit,  Holy,  impulses  due  to,  348 

Spiritual  Realities,  294 

Spontaneity,  428,  433 

Squinting,  268  9,  270-71 

Sub-Consciousness,  94,  98 

Subjective  Sensations,  180 

Substance,  310;  Primary  Knowl- 
edge of,  320;  Concept  of,  322; 
Table  of  Elements  of,  Z-- 

Superstition,  9.  302 

Supreme  Duty  Religion,  424 

Telescope,  Reflecting,  261 

Theophanies,  348 

Time  Attribute  of  Concrete  Being, 
310 

Time  and  Eternity,  378 

Time  and  Space,  16 

Time,  112;  ''No  Time,"  unthink- 
able, 115;  True  nature  of,  118; 
not  Eternity,  119;  Attribute  of 
created  Being,  120;  Relation  to 
Eternity,  illustrated,  131-132 

Touch,  289 

Transmutation  of  Forces,  439-41 

"True-Being,"  324 

"True — Proper  Being,"  325 

Truth  Impregnable,  380 


INDEX 


477 


Truth  Unassailable,  ch.  lo,  471-2 
Twofold  Intuitive  Perception,  301 

Ultimate      Objects     and      Truths, 

318-19 
Use  and  Disuse,  Vision,  269-71 

Van  Norden,  94 

Variations,  animal— origin  of,  63 

Vegetable  Life,  354 

Virtue,  423 

Visible  Force,  Motion,  373-4 

Visible  Realities,  only  Color,  229 

Vision,  Binocular,  263;  change  by 
use  and  disuse,  269-71;  not  al- 
together single,  267;  of  relief,  268 

Vision  of  God,  351-2 

Vision,  Scientific,  286 

Vision  of  the  World,  246,  249-50, 

253 
Visions,  181 
Vital  Force,  three  suppositions,  356, 

357 


Voice  of  God — Conscience,  402,  417 
What  are  we?  75 
Will  Power,  189;  miraculous,  428 
Will,   New   Exposition    of,  ch.  9, 
427;  Preface,  427;  acts  the  result 
of  combined  activities  of  the  Soul 
— two  Difficulties,  432-436;  con- 
servation   of    energy,    427,    441; 
cause  for  everything  in  the  Soul 
— definitions,      executive-power,, 
causation,    influence,    free,   free- 
agency,     responsibility,     458-9 ; 
j      teaching  of  Scripture,  469 
,  Will,  Executive  Power,  427,  458-9 
I  Will,   Self- Execution,   461  ;   versus 
I      Self-Determination,  427,  461 
I  Woman,  the  First,  52;  origin  of,  70 
i  World,  the,  an  organic  unit,  362 

! 

I  Yellow  Spot  of  Retina,  265;  change 
i      of,  269-71 

Zero  of  Thought,  342-3 


